19th Annual Gotham Awards
Once again, Independent Feature Project (IFP) turned to Empire Entertainment to produce the star studded 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. Despite the inclement weather, the guests came out in droves to support the film industry's legendary kick off event ushering in Awards season. Attendees included Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Willem Dafoe, Natalie Portman, Alec Baldwin, Chris Rock and Tim Robbins along with nearly 800 independent film mavericks.The Gotham Independent Film Awards, selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City, the home of independent film, are the first honors of the film awards season. This public showcase honors the filmmaking community, expands the audience for independent films, and supports the work that IFP does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition.
Given the unfortunate weather, Empire quickly and creatively created a tented step and repeat red carpet to kick off the evening. This exclusive event was hosted by Cipriani Wall Street with guest DJ Jauretsi spinning all night long. Up and coming Comedy Central comdian Kumail Nanjiani opened the show with hilarious rants on the film community, taking special attention to William Dafoe sitting front and center.The crowd got a special treat when Meryl Streep took the stage to give a heart warming introduction to tribute her good friend Stanley Tucci. Other Award Tributees consisted of Natalie Portman, Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, and the night's big winner Kathryn Bigelow. Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" won both Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance.
Empire acted as overall event producer, handling all event design and planning, technical production, graphic design of event materials and print advertisements, video roll-ins & scripting, stage management and talent wrangling, event logistics, budgeting and coordination.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
