Veteran studio executives Peter Kujawski and Jason Cassidy will receive an Industry Tribute at the 32nd annual Gotham Awards ceremony, taking place live and in person at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Monday, November 28.
Kujawski and Cassidy are the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the leading specialty film studio Focus Features, which is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. The former joined Focus when it was formed, rising to the role of Chairman in 2016. The latter came aboard as Marketing President that same year, being elevated to his current post in 2019.
Focus is known for producing or distributing such critically acclaimed award winners as BlacKkKlansman, Brokeback Mountain, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost in Translation, Milk, Phantom Thread, Promising Young Woman, Moonrise Kingdom and Downton Abbey, among many others. The studio currently has two Oscar contenders in its hands, in the Todd Field-directed drama Tár starring Cate Blanchett, and James Gray’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age pic Armageddon Time with Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway.
Coming up for release by Focus on December 2nd is the Michael Showalter-directed romantic drama Spoiler Alert, based on Michael Ausiello’s memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies, which stars Jim Parsons, Ben Aldridge and Sally Field. Films to be released by the studio in 2023 include Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, an untitled comedy from Ethan Coen, A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, Nida Manzoor’s Polite Society, Zelda Williams’ Lisa Frankenstein, Bill Holderman’s Book Club II: The Next Chapter, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 from Nia Vardalos, Goran Stolevski’s Of An Age, Vasilis Katsoupis’s Inside and Bobby Farrelly’s Champions, among others.
“Focus Features and its unparalleled slate of remarkable films, has been an essential part of the Gotham Awards for twenty years, truly representing the pinnacle of independent film. We salute Peter and Jason for continuing to make Focus Features a welcoming home for filmmakers while embracing innovative new ways to extend the studio’s stellar legacy,” said The Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Executive Director, Jeffrey Sharp. “Furthermore, Peter and Jason have been essential partners in supporting The Gotham’s emerging filmmaker initiatives such as the Focus Features Jet Blue Student Short Film Program which has awarded financial support and recognition to twenty graduate film school students over the past four years.”
This year’s Gotham Awards will also see the announcement of the 2022 winners of the aforementioned Student Short Film Showcase. Each will receive a $10,000 grant and have their films shown for 12 months on JetBlue’s seatback entertainment systems under the “Gotham Selects” movie category, and on digital streaming platforms.
The Gotham Awards are recognized as one of the leading honors for independent film and television, providing early acknowledgement to groundbreaking independent films and television series as they move through awards season. Other honorees set for this year’s ceremony include Michelle Williams and Adam Sandler, who will receive Performer Tributes, and the Venice Film Festival, which will be met with the Gotham Impact Salute.
This year’s full list of Gotham Award nominees can be found here.
