The Gotham Film and Media Institute laid off two key staffers this week after canceling the Project Market, where seminal indie breakouts from “Clerks” to “Moonlight” have gathered early financial resources, for the first time in its 45-year history. The Project Market, formerly known as the Independent Feature Film Market, was called off after the Gotham was informed by the WGA that writers would be in violation of their contract with the union if they participated in the event.
Senior programming director Milton Tabbot, who has worked at the organization since 1996, was let go along with director of narrative programming Zach Mandinach. Tabbot and Mandinach were the core staff responsible for managing the Project Market, while Tabbot more recently oversaw the juries for the nominees of the organization’s signature event, the Gotham Awards.
In a statement scheduled to go out to Gotham members Friday, the organization said Tabbot and Mandinach “have built a lasting legacy as ardent supporters of independent creators in the film and media industry which they will continue to do in future endeavors.” Over the course of his nearly 30-year history with the Gotham, Tabbot has been one of the most visible figures of the organization, leading initiatives such as the Documentary Feature Labs and Gotham Fiscal Sponsorship in addition to his oversight of the Gotham Awards.
Gotham executive director Jeff Sharp had no further comment, but sources tell IndieWire that planning for the Gotham Awards has been distributed to other members of its 14-person staff, as the organization maps out contingency plans for the show in light of the WGA strike. (Tabbot is in talks to remain involved with the awards planning in a part-time capacity.)
The 2023 ceremony is currently scheduled for Monday, November 27, taking its usual spot as the first awards show of Oscar season. While the critics and journalists involved in the nominating process sometimes select low-budget or otherwise marginalized work that could have a harder time resonating at other awards shows, the ceremony can also provide an early boost for outside-the-box awards season hopefuls, as it did last year for Best Film winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” (Disclosure: I participated in several of these committees over the years, but not since 2019.)
While the WGA strike will impact many awards shows if it continues through the season, as the first one on the calendar the Gothams are most vulnerable to repercussions if the strike continues into the fall. That scenario grows even more complicated if SAG-AFTRA strikes. In 2021, the Gotham Awards delayed the ceremony until January due to the pandemic, and sources tell IndieWire that such a scenario has been discussed if the strike continues.
Regardless of what happens in awards season, however, filmmakers are still attempting to raise financing for new projects of various sizes. IndieWire learned that the Gotham received a record 1,000 projects submitted to the market this year, and provided a refund on submission fees in excess of $50,000 after the Institute canceled the event.
The Gotham will still host a series of panel discussions and screenings with IndieWire sister brand Variety for the Variety Gotham Week on October 2-6. Corporate sponsors such as Amazon and Netflix that have previously supported the market are now involved in the new event (the organization receives 90 percent of its support from corporate sponsorship).
This outcome raises questions about the status of other U.S. market events, including AFM, which runs October 31 – November 5, and Film Independent’s Fast Track Film Finance event, set to take place in November.
Meanwhile, the Gotham layoffs coincided with this week’s news that the Sundance Institute has laid off six percent of its staff. While international market such as Berlin’s EFM and the Marché du Film in Cannes receive government subsidies, U.S. market events have no such government support — and, unlike during the pandemic, there will be no PPE loans anytime soon.
