US actor Colman Domingo has won the coveted Best Actor prize at the 2024 Gotham Awards for his performance in Sing Sing, a powerful film that highlights the transformative power of an educational performing arts program within a New York prison.
Domingo’s victory came as the Oscars race intensifies, with his performance being recognized as one of the standout achievements of the year. In a speech at the ceremony, Domingo expressed his gratitude, saying, “I’m just very grateful for this, to be seen in this way, to do the work that my heart desires, and my soul desires, making work that I truly believe can make a difference in this world.” He thanked the film’s director, writer, and producer for giving him the opportunity to bring his “whole self” to the role, and for allowing him to help tell the deeply moving story of the men featured in the film. He added, “They found art to be the parachute that can save them, and they poured themselves into it, and it poured back into them.”
Sing Sing, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2023, tells the real-life story of Divine G, an innocent man imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, who finds purpose through acting in a prison theater group. Domingo’s co-star, Clarence Maclin, who portrays a version of himself in the film, won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a former Sing Sing inmate.
The Gotham Awards, which were held in New York, also saw A Different Man win the top prize for Best Feature. The film, which explores the emotional journey of a man with neurofibromatosis who undergoes a radical medical procedure to change his appearance, was praised for its original and thought-provoking storytelling.
The ceremony also recognized Nickel Boys for Best Director, with filmmaker RaMell Ross taking home the award for his innovative portrayal of two men navigating a brutal reform school in Florida. Actor Brandon Wilson, who stars in Nickel Boys, received the Best Breakthrough Performer award.
Other notable winners included His Three Daughters, which won Best Screenplay, and No Other Land, which claimed Best Documentary Feature.
In addition to the film awards, the ceremony paid tribute to key figures in the industry, including director Denis Villeneuve and actors Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Angelina Jolie. Zendaya was honored with the Spotlight Award, and during her speech, she expressed her gratitude, saying, “I love what I do, so much, so incredibly grateful I get to do this for a living.”
The Gotham Awards, while not as widely regarded as some of the other ceremonies in the awards season, are seen as an important indicator of early support for films in the race for the Oscars. As the Golden Globe nominations loom on December 9, and with other critics groups soon to announce their winners, the 2024 awards season is shaping up to be an exciting one.
