Tonight, November 27th the official kick-off to the 2008 film awards season, the Gotham Awards are the leading awards for independent film. The awards are presented by IFP, the nation’s largest membership-based organization for independent filmmakers.

The Gotham Awards have a track record of providing a critical boost to smaller, independent film, such as last year’s “Half Nelson,” which went on to numerous critics awards and an Oscar® nomination for its star Ryan Gosling. This year’s nominees include: “Into the Wild,” “Sicko,”"The Savages,” “Juno,” “Margot at the Wedding,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,”"The Namesake,” “Great Wall of Sound,” “Taxi to the Dark Side,” and “I’m Not There.”

Presenters at this years award program are Meryl Streep, Sidney Lumet, Keri Russell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kyra Sedgwick, Tabu, Josh Brolin, Uma Thurman and Kerry Washington.

Nominees who are attending include Senn Penn, “Into the Wild,” Phillip Seymour Hoffman, “Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead,” Laura Linney, “The Savages,” Ethan Hawke, “Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead” and Jennifer Jason Leigh, “Margot At The Wedding.”