The Biggest Moments From Inside the 2023 Gotham Awards

The first notable ceremony of the Oscar season got underway last night, with a bevy of A-list attendees coming out in full force. Returning to Cipriani Wall Street, this year's Gotham Awards, which honors outstanding voices in film and television, had it all: breakthrough winners, standing ovations, political speeches, and emotional tributes.

While the event has traditionally celebrated independent filmmaking, the Gotham Film & Media Institute had the $35 million budget cap requirements removed for potential nominees this year, allowing for representation from blockbuster productions like Barbie to be in the mix.

Speaking of Barbie, Margot Robbie continued her doll-inspo streak with a Prada look referencing the "Black Magic Ensemble" Barbie from 1964, a dress she was originally supposed to wear to the Barbie Tokyo premiere before the SAG-AFTRA strike. She accepted the Global Icon & Creator Tribute alongside director Greta Gerwig, who looked pristine in a white belted dress from Brandon Maxwell.

Charles Melton (also in Prada), who's been getting considerable Oscar buzz ever since May December premiered at Cannes, took home the supporting-performance award for his role in the Todd Haynes-directed film. Lily Gladstone, outfitted in a deep blue Louis Vuitton dress, took home the evening's other acting honor for her lead performance in The Unknown Country. (The Gothams' acting category awards are no longer defined by gender as of 2021.)

Another big winner of the night was A24's Past Lives, which took home the award for best feature. “Thank you, Gotham, for this award. It’s such an honor. It really means the world to receive it with my debut set in New York City, a city I live in and love deeply,” said writer-director Celine Song, who was joined onstage by a Loewe-clad Greta Lee, the star of the film.

Robert DeNiro, who accepted the Historical Icon & Creator Tribute, looked visibly frustrated after implying that a large part of his Trump-criticizing speech was cut from the teleprompter. He skipped over the part of his speech where he would thank Apple and the Gothams. “I don’t feel like thanking them at all for what they did. How dare they do that, actually," he said.

In television, A24 got the other big win for Netflix's Beef, with the show taking awards for Breakthrough Series – Under 40 Minutes and Outstanding Performance in a New Series for Ali Wong. "Working on Beef was truly the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life...other than having children," said Wong.

On the fashion front, the black column dress was a recurring trend on the red carpet, with Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny, and Nicole Beharie sporting iterations of it in Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli, Valentino, Rodarte, and Dolce & Gabbana, respectively.