At the annual New York City event at Cipriani Wall Street, bestowing serious awards and spreading unexpected intimacy, Maggie Gyllenhaal swept the Gotham Awards in her directorial debut for The Lost Daughter. Her adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s short story won Best Screenplay and Best Feature; and, ç1 shared the award for Outstanding Lead Performance with Frankie Faison, star of The Killing of Kenneth. Traditionally the start of the award season for films, the Gothams prides itself on indie selections, and still manages to honor major stars.

Kristen Stewart introduced by Julianne Moore and Pablo Larrain who directed her in Spencer, his take on Diana, managed to keep it real deploying an occasional if authentic “f” word. As Moore, asked, “Who is cooler than Kristen Stewart? Well maybe Ethan Hawke who shared a prize for Outstanding Performance in a New Series for his work on The Good Lord Bird with Thuso Mbedu of The Underground Railroad, and then was right back onstage to introduce Peter Dinklage. “He contains multitudes,” Hawke quoted Walt Whitman, praising Dinklage’s acting chops. Bonding in praise of John Malkovitch, actor to actor, well, they should know.

Milling about, chomping on lamb chops and mini quiches, the crowd could not have been happier to see one another face to face—everyone vaxxed of course. The delightful Jennifer Coolidge chatted with Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris who wore a jacked trimmed in chartreuse feathers. Yes, his theater work was influenced by that of Leroi Jones/ Amiri Baraka, especially Dutchman, he told me. And Ruth Negga, sublime in Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut, Passing, based on Nella Larsen’s novel, told me she loves living in L.A. Preparing now for a run of Macbeth on Broadway with Daniel Craig, she’s on a roll, as they say. Her equally wonderful Passing co-star Tessa Thompson was having difficulty getting around in a stiff-skirted gown, one of very few nods at formality.

Directors stood their ground. The Director’s Tribute went to Jane Campion—indeed “singular” as presenter Mark Ruffalo praised her. Her “Power of the Dog” is high on many critics’ lists for a Best Picture Oscar. And coming back to Maggie Gyllenhaal, she also won the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award, noting the great support of her husband, Peter Sarsgaard: “We usually see it the other way around, with women cheering their husbands' successes." How oool is that?