Gotham Awards 2010:'Winter's Bone'wins best feature film

"Winter's Bone,"a stark tale of a young woman trying to keep her family together, won best feature film on Monday night at the Gotham Awards, a key event for independent movies.

The film revolves around a small group of people living in the rural mountains of southernMissouriwho are involved in making a form of crystal methamphetamine, commonly called"crank."It also won best ensemble performance at theNew York-based awards.

The best documentary trophy was given to"The Oath,"which tells parallel stories aboutAbu Jandal,Osama bin Laden's former bodyguard and a free man who drives a taxi inYemen, andSalim Hamdan, a formerGuantanamo Bayprisoner caught up in a legal battle to win his release.

The Gotham Awards are held annually by the Independent Feature Project, an nonprofit organization founded in 1979 that supports independent filmmaking. The awards give film fans an indication of the top independent movies of the year heading into Hollywood's film award season.

Ronald Bronsteinwas named breakthrough actor for his work in"Daddy Longlegs,"playing a divorced father of two young boys whom he sees only a couple of weeks a year.

Kevin Aschwon the breakthrough director category for his debut feature,"Holy Rollers,"which starredJesse Eisenbergas a young man from an Orthodox Jewish community who is lured into dealing drugs.

"Littlerock,"was named best film without a distribution deal, while special tribute awards were given to actorRobert Duvall, actressHilary Swank,"Black Swan"directorDarren Aronofskyand producer and screenwriterJames Schamus.

The documentary"Waiting for Superman,"which examines problems in theU.S.school system, won the festival genius audience award, a new Gotham Awards category this year. To be eligible, a film must have won an audience award at a U.S. or Canadian film festival from November 2009 to October 2010.

Movies and performances singled out at the Gothams are often similar to those nominated forIndependent Spirit Awards, another key set of honors for indie movies that is organized byLos Angeles-based group, Film Independent.

"Winter's Bone"was made for a budget of around $2 million and also won the top award at theSundance Film Festivalearlier this year.

At last year's Gotham Awards,"The Hurt Locker"won best feature and went on to win best film atthe Oscars.

(Reporting byChristine Kearney, editing byBob Tourtellotte)

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