The Knockturnal was on the red carpet for the 26th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards on Monday, November 28 at Cipriani Wall Street.
The evening was presented by Fiji Water, Deep Euphoria Calvin Klein and Landmark Vineyards. Nominated for Breakthrough Actor award was Lily Gladstone, for her performance in Certain Women. We first met Lily at the New York Film Festival back in October. She is also nominated for a Spirit Award for her work. Read our interview below:
Congrats on being nominated for a Gotham. How do you feel?
Lily: It’s really exciting. It’s a huge honor, it’s … trying to think about what I might say if I win. Other than that, I’m just glad people are seeing the film and seeing it’s good as we all thought, and we all knew it was … My family and my whole community my whole life has really just seen how much I love this. It’s cool. That’s the best part about everything is just people back home who are … A lot of people in my circles are just having a really tough time post election, you know. For a lot of them this film and the success of the film, and the success of me has been exciting for them. That’s the most important exciting part for me.
What do you hope people take away from Certain Women?
Lily: I hope it gives everybody a chance to reflect a little bit, to step away from the normal pace that they’re used to. It’s a time when a lot of people are looking to understand why the state of the world is the way that it is. Some people are able to just keep going, some people don’t get what they want and work through it, others don’t. I hope whatever anybody sees in it is a really personal experience, that’s the way the filmmaker intended it, but … I encourage anybody who’s kind of looking for a minute to breathe and step aside from and understand what’s going on culturally right now with everything, in the face of the election. Certain women might help a little bit. Actually, this is kind of a cool story, and I just love being able to say it to a more independent journalist. Denise Juneau is one of the candidates that was campaigning in Montana this year. She’s a Blackfeet woman from the reservation, same town I am. She was running for Congress, and she didn’t end up getting the position. She lost to the Republican, but the first thing she did when she found out the results is want to come see the film. Cause she wanted to see a hometown girl in it.
Wow. So she reached out to you?
Lily: Yeah. I heard that through the family circle.
That’s exciting.
Yeah, encourage people to go see it if you need a minute to step aside and think about what’s going on right now.
There’s also a lot going on with the pipeline as well. Is that something that you are on the forefront of or just paying attention to?
Lily: I’ve got a lot of really, really close friends, adopted family, people I’ve been in ceremony with, people I’ve been on the front lines of education with, of getting into rural reservation communities and talking about self expression and your voice matters, and I’m seeing a lot of those kids that I’ve mentored in the past out on the front lines. My sisters in development. My good friends, my adopted family. I’m an only child, but people that I consider my siblings out there working every day. It’s a huge issue to me, and I think what’s so remarkable about it being paired with what’s going on with Certain Women right now. I mean my character has been taught her whole life to sit in the back of the class and be quiet, and comes from a small, mixed family, a reservation community. It’s kind of great that there’s so many that are so vocal now and just fighting for what we all need to survive, fighting for what’s important. That’s what’s keeping me going through all of this and kind of grounded through all of this is just how exciting it is for people back home and people who are out there fighting for what is right.
What upcoming projects can you share?
Lily: There is one that just had a wide release, Subterranea. There’s an international audience that would have fun with that one. You can pick it up on DVD. There’s another film that I absolutely love, Buster’s Mal Heart, with Sarah Adina Smith. She’s a graduate from American Film Institute. Starring Rami Malek. Shot in Montana. My whole career thus far has been grown in my home state. It’s just another Montana film that’s really cool. Picked up distribution recently. It’s an incredible experience. There’s nothing like it that I’ve seen. If you’re looking for a cult-classic-niche film, and want to get ahead of everybody else, go see that film. I think it’s going to have a big following.
