Ana Carballosa/Amazon Studios/Courtesy of Everett Collection
Air has received a special honor at next month’s Gotham Awards.
The film, which tells the story of the creation of the Air Jordan brand, will receive the Gotham Visionary Icon & Creator Tribute Award. The new award honors director Ben Affleck’s film and collaborator on the real-life Michael Jordan shoe phenomenon.
The Gotham Academy of Film and Media Awards will take place on November 27 this year at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, marking the unofficial kickoff of awards season. Nominees for the film and television competitive categories will be announced on October 24.
“Both gripping and hilarious, Air “This is a refreshing reminder for the film industry that audiences respond to smart, original narratives,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the institute. “By capturing sports marketing A dramatic story behind one of the most important partnerships in history, this film highlights the power of knowing your own worth and using that knowledge to take the right risks.”
Air It was released by Amazon Cinema last spring and began streaming on Prime Video in May.
The film is set in 1984, when Jordan was transferring from the national college basketball championship team at North Carolina to the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. It depicts the improbable choice Jordan and his family made: aligning with Nike rather than rivals Converse or Adidas, which dominated the market at the time. This decision will change the future of sports and celebrity.
Affleck plays Nike founder Phil Knight, and the cast also includes Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Juliette Tannon and Viola Davis. Air is the first film produced by Affleck and Damon’s production company, Artists Equity, and is backed by Skydance Sports and Mandalay Pictures.