--- description: The 2014 Gotham Independent Film Awards wrapped up in New York Monday night, with Alejandro G. Inarritu’s Birdman winning best feature. title: 'Birdman' Star of Gotham Independent Film Awards image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93c2452ce3ac2767/69876bc45f570f5cebb13e10/film-spirit-awards_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Birdman_ Wins Big at the NYC Gotham Independent Film Awards by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2014 6:45 AM CUT  In this image released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, Michael Keaton portrays Riggan in a scene from Birdman In this image released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, Michael Keaton portrays Riggan in a scene from BirdmanAtsushi Nishijima—AP by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2014 6:45 AM CUT The 2014 Gotham Independent Film Awards wrapped up in New York Monday night with Alejandro G. Inarritu’s _Birdman_ [winning](http://www.thewrap.com/2014-gotham-awards-winners-list-live-stream/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=mailchimp "undefined") best feature. Inarritu’s dark comedy beat Richard Linklater’s _Boyhood_, which won the audience award and just hours earlier picked up best picture from the New York Film Critics Circle, the _Wrap_ reports. _Birdman_ hit a bit of a winning streak with Michael Keaton bagging best actor for his portrayal of washed-up actor turned Broadway playwright Riggan Thomson. Laura Poitras’s film _Citizenfour_ on National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden was named Best Documentary. Tessa Thompson picked up best Breakthrough Actor for her role playing Ivy League college student Sam White in _Dear White People._ The Gotham Awards showcase independent films from around the U.S. and abroad and generally marks the beginning of the awards season. **Here is a rundown of the winners:** Best Feature: _Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance_) Best Documentary: _Citizenfour_ Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award: Ana Lily Amirpour, _A Girl Walks Home Alone Tonight_ Best Actor: Michael Keaton, _Birdman_ Best Actress: Julianne Moore, _Still Alice_ Breakthrough Actor: Tessa Thompson, _Dear White People_ Spotlight on Women Filmakers ‘Live the Dream’ Grant: Chloe Zhao, director, _Songs my Brothers Taught Me_ Gotham Independent Film Audience Award: _Boyhood_ Special Jury Award: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, _Foxcatcher_ \[[_The Wrap_](http://www.thewrap.com/2014-gotham-awards-winners-list-live-stream/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=mailchimp "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3613240/birdman-nyc-gotham-independent-film-awards/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3613240/birdman-nyc-gotham-independent-film-awards/"},"headline":"Birdman Wins Big at the NYC Gotham Independent Film Awards","datePublished":"2014-12-02T06:45:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:29:44.943Z","description":"Hollywood's awards season has officially kicked off","url":"https://time.com/3613240/birdman-nyc-gotham-independent-film-awards/","keywords":["movies","New York","Michael Keaton","Boyhood","birdman"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93c2452ce3ac2767/69876bc45f570f5cebb13e10/film-spirit-awards_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93c2452ce3ac2767/69876bc45f570f5cebb13e10/film-spirit-awards_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Film Spirit Awards","caption":"Film Spirit Awards","creditText":"Atsushi Nishijima—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3613240/birdman-nyc-gotham-independent-film-awards/","name":"Birdman Wins Big at the NYC Gotham Independent Film Awards"}}]}] ```