Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski and vice chairman Jason Cassidy will receive The Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Industry Tribute at the in-person 32nd annual Gotham Awards in New York on November 28.
“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,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute.
Sharp added that the executives 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 awarding financial support and recognition to 20 graduate film school students over the past four years.
Winners will be announced at the ceremony. Each will receive a $10,000 grant and have their films shown for 12 months on JetBlue flights and on Focus Features digital streaming platforms.
The studio’s current and upcoming slate includes Todd Field’s awards heavyweight TÁR starring Cate Blanchett; James Gray’s Armageddon Time with Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Strong, and Anne Hathaway; and Michael Showalter’s Spoiler Alert starring Jim Parsons, Ben Aldridge and Sally Field.
Coming up in 2023 are Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, an untitled comedy from Ethan Cohen; 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 Of An Age; Vasilis Katsoupis’s Inside and Bobby Farrelly’s Champions, among others.
The studio’s releases include Brokeback Mountain, Lost In Translation, Promising Young Woman, Milk, and BlacKkKlansman.
Kujawski joined Focus at inception and became chairman in 2016. Cassidy joined as marketing president in 2016 and was promoted to Vice Chairman in 2019.
TÁR leads the Gothams nominees on five nods including best lead performance for Blanchett.
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