Richard Linklater with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Photo by Brian Brooks
Before Midnight director Richard Linklater will be this year's Director Tribute at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) said Tuesday. One of the early events to give out honors during awards season, the 23rd annual Gothams' selected Linklater for his “impressive body of work, leaving an indelible mark on independent film and in the hearts and minds of audiences the world over.”
Linklater's latest film, Before Midnight from Sony Pictures Classics, was selected by a beginning of summer poll by FilmLinc.com as this year's “Best Movie of 2013 (So Far)” among critics, journalists and programmers. Linklater's films have been recognized by the Oscars, the Austin Film Critics Association, the Berlin International Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Locarno International Film Festival, and the Sundance, Tribeca, and Venice Film Festivals, among others.
Among his roster of films spanning over two decades are It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (1988), Slacker (1991), Dazed and Confused (1993), Before Sunrise (1995), Suburbia (1997) Waking Life (2001) School of Rock (2003), Before Sunset (2004), Bad News Bears (2005), Fast Food Nation (2006) Me and Orson Welles (2009) and Bernie (2012). Linklater also serves as the Artistic Director for the Austin Film Society, which he founded in 1985 to showcase films from around the world not typically shown in Austin. The Austin Film Society has given out over $1.2 million in grants to Texas filmmakers and in 1999, received the DGA Honor which was given by the Directors Guild of America in recognition of its support of the arts.
“It is with great enthusiasm and pride that we give honor to a man who has played a significant role in expanding the language of film throughout the last 25 years,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of the IFP, which produces the Gothams. “Richard Linklater’s unique vision and voice- in addition to the special characters he has created- place him among the most prolific and poignant directors working today, and we are honored to celebrate his work.”
Past recipients of the Gotham honorees include: David O. Russell, David Cronenberg, Mira Nair, Gus Van Sant, Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese; industry icons Jeff Skoll, Tom Rothman, James Schamus, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sheila Nevins, Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, Marcie Bloom, Jonathan Sehring, and film critic Roger Ebert; actors Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Charlize Theron, Robert Duval, Stanley Tucci, Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, PĂ©nelope Cruz and Kate Winslet.
Nominees for the 23rd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards will be announced on October 24 and winners will be honored at a ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on December 2. The submission deadline for this year's Gotham Independent Film Awards is September 20th. IFP's Independent Film Week is currently being held at Lincoln Center.
