Gotham Screen Film Festival & Screenplay Contest
GOTHAM SCREEN is an American cinematic event which became the newest addition to New York City's film festival scene.
After its debut in 2007 as a screenplay contest, Gotham Screen, or GSIFF International Film Festival, has been expanded to showcase shorts and feature films. 2012's festival took place in downtown Manhattan, at the Quad Cinema, from October 4–14.
This festival gives filmmakers the chance to have their work shown and critically judged in New York. Gotham Screen specializes in fresh voices and perspectives from local, national and international filmmakers. The mission of the festival is to create a positive industry and audience exposure for works that would otherwise not easily get seen. The concurrently held screenplay contest also holds regular readings throughout the year.
The festival's International Showcase will this year host a selection of European, Middle Eastern and Asian feature films, shorts and documentaries, while the New American Cinema section brings the latest in US shorts and independents.
About the festival
The GOTHAM SCREEN film festival showcases new feature, documentary and short films from independent, first- or second-time directors as well as international releases making their East Coast or US debut. The festival focuses on new names and lesser known filmmaking regions. There is a $1,000 cash prize for Best Short Film.The GOTHAM SCREEN Screenplay Contest is aimed at first and second time screenwriters and comes with a $2,500 cash prize for the winning screenplay. In addition, excerpts from selected contest entries will be performed live at a staged reading during the festival.
The 2012 Festival and Screenplay Contest was held in Manhattan from October 4–14, 2012, at the Quad Cinema, Tribeca Grand and other venues in downtown Manhattan.
2011 Festival
2010 Festival
The 2010 Festival and Screenplay Contest was held in Manhattan from October 7–17, 2010, at the Tribeca Cinemas, Tribeca Grand and other venues in downtown Manhattan.2010 Awards Winners
;2010 GOTHAM SCREEN Circleframe Awards announcedThe winning films and screenplays were announced at the industry brunch on the closing day of the 2010 Gotham Screen Film Festival, Sunday, Oct 17, 2010:
| Best Feature | Just Between Us Rajko Grlić, director |
| Best Photography | Meat Viktor Nieuwenhuijs, Cinematographer/DP |
| Best Actress | Maxine Peake, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister |
| Best Actor | Miki Manojlović, Just Between Us' |
| Best Short Film | Tapeworm Margaret Laney, director |
| Special Jury Mention - Acting in A Short Film | Tapeworm Madeleine Lodge, actress |
| Special Jury Mention - Student Film | The Birds Upstairs Christopher Jarvis, director |
| Special Jury Mention - Short Film Experiment | Somewhere Never Traveled Ben Garchar, director |
;2010 GOTHAM SCREEN Circleframe Screenwriting Awards:
| Best Screenplay | Black Parables by Andrew Williams Flores - Winner of the $2,500 Circleframe Screenwriting Award, sponsored by Triboro Pictures. |
| Best Thriller | Freedom at Midnight by Jeffrey Ryback |
| Best Horror | The Life & Crimes of Dudley Segal by Barry Kneller |
| Best Young Adult/Family | Strike by Lucinda Ziesing |
| Best Adventure | The Revenge of the Black Claw by Dylan Paschke |
| Best Drama | Relay by Louise Bylicki |
| Best Comedy | The Liquidator'' by Ed Waugh & Trevor Wood |
Festival lineup 2010
The 2010 festival lineup:| Thursday, October 7, 7:30 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | Opening Night Premiere: " Radio Free Albemuth ", US 2010, 100 min. WORLD PREMIERE Dir. John Alan Simon, written by Philip K. Dick, with Jonathan Scarfe, Shea Whigham, Katheryn Winnick, Alanis Morissette, Hanna Hall, Ashley Greene |
| Friday, October 8, 7:30 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | Meat, Netherlands, 2010, 85 min. US PREMIERE Dir. Victor Nieuwenhuijs and Maartje Seygerth, with Nellie Benner, Hugo Metsers, Titus Muizelaar |
| 9:30 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | LelleBelle, Netherlands, 2010, 85 min. US PREMIERE Dir.: Mischa Kamp, with Anna Raadsveld, Benja Bruijing, Charlie Dagelet, Tom Van Landuyt |
| Saturday, October 9, 7:00 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | Shorts Selection I |
| 9:00 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | The War is Over, Macedonia/Switzerland, 2009, 95 min. US PREMIERE Dir. Mitko Panov, with Enver Petrovci, Blerta Syla, Ljupcho Todorovski, Armond Morina, Muzafer Etemi, Selman Lokaj, Dritero Ame, Sylejman Lokaj, Sheqerie Buqaj |
| Sunday, October 10, 6:30 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | A Shine of Rainbows , Ireland/Canada, 2009, 101 min. Dir. Vic Sarin, with Connie Nielsen, Aidan Quinn, John Bell |
| 8:30 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | The Secret Diaries of Miss Ann Lister, UK, 2010, 90 min. US PREMIERE Dir. James Kent, with Maxine Peake, Anna Madeley, Susan Lynch, Christine Bottomley, Gemma Jones, Dean Lennox Kelly, Tina O'Brien |
| Monday, October 11, 6:30 pm | Staged Screenplay Reading of a winning entry of the Gotham Screen Screenplay Contest |
| Tuesday, October 12, 7:30 pm, Macao Trading Co. | Shorts Selection II |
| Wednesday, October 13, 7:30 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | She Wolf Rising, US, 2010, 89 min. WORLD PREMIERE Dir. Marc Leland, with Tiffany Shepis, Debbie Rochon, Timothy Mandala, Ruby Larocca |
| Wednesday, October 13, 9:30 pm, Tribeca Cinemas | Paprika - A tribute to Satoshi Kon, Japan, 2006, 90 min. Dir. Satoshi Kon |
| Thursday, October 14, 8:30 pm | Film Socialisme, France/Switzerland, 2010, 101 min. Dir. Jean-Luc Godard, with Patti Smith, Élisabeth Vitali, Christian Sinniger, Nadège Beausson-Diagne, Alain Badiou, Lenny Kaye, Catherine Tanvier |
| Friday, October 15, 7:00 pm | Shorts Selection III |
| Friday, October 15, 9:00 pm | Southern District , Bolivia, 2009, 108 min. Dir. Juan Carlos Valdivia, with Ninón del Castillo, Pascual Loayza, Nicolás Fernández, Juan Pablo Koria, Mariana Vargas, Viviana Condori |
| Saturday, October 16, 8:30 pm | Closing Night Premiere: Just Between Us, Croatia, 2010, 87 min. US PREMIERE Dir. Rajko Grlić, with Miki Manojlović, Bojan, Ksenija Marinkovic, Daria Lorenci, Nataša Dorčić, Nina Ivanisin |
| Sunday, October 17, 11:30 am | Awards Brunch at The Loft |
Festival lineup 2009
The 2009 Festival and Screenplay Contest was held in Manhattan from October 20–25, 2009.The highlights of the 2008 lineup:
Opening Night Premiere: Loft Belgium 2008 - Thursday, October 21, 8:30pm
A sexy Belgian thriller, starring Koen De Bouw, Filip Peeters, Matthias Schoenaerts, Veerle Baetens, Laura Verlinden and An Miller; Dir.: Erik Van Looy. U.S. Premiere.
Closing Night Premiere: The Understudy US 2008- Sunday, October 25, 7:30pm
A cool New York comedy, starring Marin Ireland, Paul Sparks, Aasif Mandvi, Richard Kind, Tom Wopat, Gloria Reuben, Reiko Aylesworth; Dir: David Conolly & Hannah Davis. New York Premiere.
Special Screening: The Belgrade Phantom, Serbia 2008- Saturday, October 24, 9pm
A “Fast and Furious’ for the Socialist era” at the end of the 70s, starring Milutin Milošević, Radoslav Milenković, Marko Živić, Nada Macankovic; Dir: Jovan Todorović. U.S. Premiere.
Live Staged Reading: Tuesday, October 20, 7:30pm
A selection of excerpts from finalists for the Circleframe Award of the
Gotham Screen screenplay contest are performed live on stage. Free Event.
2009 Awards Winners
;2009 GOTHAM SCREEN Circleframe Awards announcedThe winning films and screenplays were announced on the closing day of the 2009 Gotham Screen Film Festival, Sunday, Oct 25, 2009:
| Best Feature | Salawati Marc X Grigoroff, director |
| Best Documentary | The Belgrade Phantom Jovan B. Todorovic, director |
| Best Photography | Loft Danny Elsen, Cinematographer/DP |
| Best Actress | Salina Safuan, Salawati |
| Best Actor | Eduard Fernández, El Vestido |
| Best Short Film | El Encargado Sergio Barrejón, director |
| Special Jury Mention | The Moon Inside You Diana Fabianova, director |
;2009 GOTHAM SCREEN Circleframe Screenwriting Awards:
| Best Screenplay | Coal Hard Cash by Arthur Schurr - Winner of the $2,500 Circleframe Screenwriting Award, sponsored by Triboro Pictures. |
| Best Drama | The Congo Redemption by Ken Straw and Joey O'Connor |
| Best Comedy | Sink or Swim: The Saga of Shore Break Rentals by Keith Strausbaugh |
| Best Romantic Comedy | FRENCHING aka OOH LA-LA by Marie Rose |
| Best Family/Children's | Chances by Jeff Trently and Anthony Stitt |
| Best Action/Adventure | Graf by M. Roman Rosales & Peter Loffredo |
| Best Thriller | Cleo Parker by Michel Palmer |
Festival lineup 2008
;Opening Night Premiere:;Closing Night Premiere:
;Special Screening:
2008 Awards Winners
;2008 GOTHAM SCREEN Circleframe Awards announcedThe winning films and screenplays were announced on the closing day of the 2008 Gotham Screen Film Festival, Sunday, Nov 2, 2008:
| Audience Award | Pretty Ugly People Tate Taylor, director |
| Best Feature | The Other Half Rolando Colla, director |
| Best Documentary | Face Addict Edo Bertoglio, director |
| Best Photography | Left Bank Linkeroever Nicolas Karakatsanis, Cinematographer/DP |
| Best Actress | Eline Kuppens, Left Bank Linkeroever |
| Best Actor | Robert Pugh, Goodnight Irene |
| Best Short Film | Word On The Street Nick Barbieri, director |
;2008 GOTHAM SCREEN Circleframe Screenwriting Awards:
| Best Screenplay | The Virgin Of Poughkeepsie A romantic comedy, by Eva Konstatopoulos - Winner of the $2,500 Circleframe Screenwriting Award, sponsored by Triboro Pictures. |
| Best Comedy | The Method by Beth Overmyer |
| Best Drama | Lone Scout by Alan O'Connor |
| Best Adventure | The Legend of Jean Lafitte by C. Robert Holloway |
| Best Children's/Family | The Magical Kingdom of Naga as Envisioned by the Princess Lena by Tanya Klein |
| Best Horror | Buzz by Mark Cerulli |
| Best Thriller | American Gothic by Melissa Bruning |