One Battle After Another wins big at Gotham Awards

Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another has won best feature film and dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi has won three awards at the 35th annual Gotham Awards, a starry kick-off to the film industry's awards season.

The Gothams, presented by the Gotham Film & Media Institute, are not considered an Oscar bellwether.

But the black-tie affair, held at Cipriani Wall Street in downtown Manhattan on Monday, is known for celebrating smaller films while also dishing out generous helpings of tribute awards to Oscar hopefuls.

That made One Battle After Another, a studio release that cost at least $US130 million ($A198 million) to make, unlike any previous winner at the Gothams.

Past winners include indies such as Past Lives, Everything Everywhere All at Once and the surprise 2024 winner, A Different Man.

"I remember when the Gotham Awards were for low-budget movies," joked Adam Sandler, presenting a tribute to Noah Baumbach.

"For The Squid and the Whale, they paid Jeff Daniels in potato skins."

But in 2023, the Gotham Awards dispensed with their $US35 million budget cap for films.

And in 2025, One Battle After Another, a father-daughter tale of multigenerational protest, is widely seen as the best-picture frontrunner and the movie to beat at March's Academy Awards.

Best lead performance went to Sope Dirisu for the British-Nigerian drama My Father's Shadow.

His award was accepted by the film's director, Akinola Davies Jr, who also won for breakthrough director.

Other nominees in the category included Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Jennifer Lawrence (Die My Love) and Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon).

Best supporting performance went to Wunmi Mosaku of Sinners, a victory that came over nominees such as Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another), Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value) and Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein).

Sinners director Ryan Coogler accepted her award.

Panahi won three awards for his revenge drama It Was Just an Accident: best director, best original screenplay and best international film.

Earlier on Monday, Panahi's lawyer said the director had been sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban.

Panahi was jailed for months shortly before making It Was Just an Accident and only released after going on a hunger strike.

In 2010, he was barred from filmmaking or travelling out of Iran, yet he continued to make films without the government's permission.

Since 2023, and until Monday's ruling, Panahi had been permitted to leave Iran.

In May, his film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

"I would like to dedicate the honour of this award to independent filmmakers in Iran and around the world," said Panahi accepting the screenplay award.

Among the tribute honorees were: Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, Scott Cooper's Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere; Hedda star Tessa Thompson; Jay Kelly director Noah Baumbach; the cast of Sinners; Luca Guadagnino and Julia Roberts of After the Hunt; and Song Sung Blue stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.