IFP has announced the nominees for the 2008 Gotham Independent Film Awards (formerly known as just the Gotham Awards), and just by virtue of nod count, Ballast is the big winner with nominations in four categories:Best Feature, Breakthrough Director (Lance Hammer), Breakthrough Performance (Michael J. Smith) and Ensemble Performance.

Also very exciting: Barry Jenkins will compete against Hammer in the Director category for Medicine for Melancholy; Sita Sings the Blues, one of my Tribeca 2008 favorites, will compete against Tom Quinn’s The New Year Parade and SXSW winner Wellness for the Not Coming to a Theater Near You award; and The Wrestler, Rachel Getting Married and Synecdoche NY, some of my favorite American films of the year, all received attention. The full release is after the jump.

…Read more