The 35th annual Gotham Awards kicked off awards season in Manhattan with a big night for Paul Thomas Anderson and an even bigger one for Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi.
Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which entered the ceremony with a record six nominations, walked away with the evening’s top prize, Best Feature. It marks the filmmaker’s first Gotham Award after four career nominations. The film, a sprawling ensemble piece starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro, has already surpassed $200 million at the worldwide box office.
But the night ultimately belonged to Panahi. His Palme d’Or–winning It Was Just an Accident swept three major categories: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature. The wins arrived under a cloud, Panahi had been convicted in absentia by Iran just hours before the ceremony, but his remarks, delivered through an interpreter, drew some of the night’s most emotional responses as he dedicated the awards to filmmakers who continue creating despite censorship and repression.
The only other multi-winner was Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow. The semi-autobiographical drama, which premiered at Cannes and is the UK’s Oscar submission for International Feature, earned Davies Breakthrough Director and Sopé Dìrísù Outstanding Lead Performance.
Wunmi Mosaku took Outstanding Supporting Performance for her role in Ryan Coogler’s horror hit Sinners, with Coogler accepting on her behalf. The cast later returned to the stage to receive the Ensemble Tribute.
Documentary honors went to My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow, about independent journalists labeled “foreign agents” under Vladimir Putin’s government. Breakthrough Performance was awarded to Abou Sangaré for Souleymane’s Story, another Cannes standout.
The ceremony also featured a wide slate of previously announced tributes honoring Luca Guadagnino, Julia Roberts, Noah Baumbach, the cast of Sinners, Guillermo del Toro, Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Tessa Thompson, Kate Hudson, Hugh Jackman, Jeremy Allen White, and Scott Cooper. Del Toro used his moment to point out that human-made art is amid the industry’s uneasy relationship with AI.
As the first major stop on the awards-season calendar, the Gothams once again framed the early narrative—this year with a distinctly international and politically charged edge.
Full List of 2025 Gotham Award Winners:
Best Feature
One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson, Sara Murphy, Adam Somner, producers (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Director
Jafar Panahi — It Was Just an Accident (Neon)
Outstanding Lead Performance
Sopé Dìrísù — My Father’s Shadow (Mubi)
Outstanding Supporting Performance
Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Breakthrough Performer
Abou Sangaré — Souleymane’s Story (Kino Lorber)
Best Documentary Feature
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow — Directed and produced by Julia Loktev
Breakthrough Director
Akinola Davies Jr. — My Father’s Shadow (Mubi)
Best International Feature
It Was Just an Accident — Philippe Martin, Jafar Panahi, producers (Neon)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Harry Lighton — Pillion (A24)
Best Original Screenplay
Jafar Panahi — It Was Just an Accident (Neon)
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