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Yesterday morning, New York Times critic, A.O. Scott, read off the 19th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards nominees via live webcast for the first time ever.

One of the big winners (nomination-wise) was Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, which scored noms for Best Feature, Best Ensemble Performance and Breakthrough Actor for Jeremy Renner.  The Hurt Locker was the major pickup at last year's Toronto Film Festival where the declining economic state of the independent film industry put a virtual freeze on film buying.

 Big Fan, directed by Robert Siegel, which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, nabbed nominations for Best feature, Breakthrough Actor for comedian Patton Oswalt and Breakthrough Director.  Also worth nothing are the noms of Best Feature and Best Ensemble Cast for A Serious Man written and directed by the Coen Brothers, who can't seem to breathe without being nominated for awards.

The ceremony, scheduled for November 30 at Cipriani Wall Street, will also honor Bigelow, Natalie Portman, Stanley Tucci and producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner  with the Gotham Career Tribute Award for their impressive contributions to the industry.

The IFP first debuted its program in 1979 at the New York Film festival and is now the largest organization of independent filmmakers in the country, supporting the production of over 7,000 films so far and continuing to expand its invaluable resources every year.  Past winners have included Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning Frozen River, Sundance Directing Award-winner Lance Hammer, and Academy Award nominees Ellen Page, Amy Adams, Capote and Sideways.

Look up all the nominees for the Gotham Independent Film Awards here.

This blog has been contributed by Film & TV Channel assistant Kristen Berke.