On Monday, the Gotham awards will hand out their annual film awards and will celebrate the best in independent film.

The Gotham Independent Film Awards is a prize selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City. They are regarded as some of 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.

The awards are not the best prognosticators of the Academy Awards, but they bring visibility to some smaller films that sometimes do not get the exposure due to their smaller distribution companies.

The Gothams have sometimes been questioned for some of their decisions because sometimes studio films are nominated. For example in 2006, "The Departed," which had a $90 million budget, was nominated and this past year the organization nominated "Under the Skin," even though it was not an American production.

This year, the race is said to be between "Boyhood" and "Birdman," which are nominated for Best Picture. However, there is a possibility that "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Love is Strange" and "Under the Skin" could take it all. Last year for example, "Inside Llewyn Davis" surprised by beating out front-runner "12 Years a Slave" and in 2011 "the Tree of Life" tied with "Beginners."

Meanwhile, the Best Actor race is said to be a battle between Ethan Hawke for "Boyhood" and Michael Keaton for "Birdman". Both performances are likely to compete at the Academy Awards, but in different categories. It is unlikely that Bill Hader wins for "The Skeleton Twins" or Miles Tellers wins for "Whiplash." However, Oscar Isaac could be a wild card. His performance in "A Most Violent Year" is receiving raves and he is clearly beloved by the Gothams. Last year, he was nominated for "Inside Llewyn Davis" and did not win. As a result, the Gothams may want to redeem themselves.

The Best Actress race is also a two-way race between Patricia Arquette for "Boyhood" and Julianne Moore for "Still Alice." Both those performances are also set to compete in different categories at the Academy Awards. Meanwhile, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mia Wasikowska are likely to go home empty handed for their performances in "Beyond the Lights" and "Tracks." The one actress who may surprise is Scarlett Johansson for her work in the highly acclaimed "Under the Skin." Johansson has shown a huge range this year and the Gothams may want to award her for that.

The Gotham awards will also see Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell, and Channing Tatum awarded for Best Ensemble in their film "Foxcatcher." Meanwhile, Bennett Miller, Tilda Swinton and Ted Sarandos will receive tributes for their work this year.

The Gotham awards will also hand out prizes for Breakthrough Director of the Year and Breakthrough Actor. The organization will also hand out an audience award that was voted on by IFP members and there will be Best Documentary award.

The Gothams will take place in New York City and will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT with live updates on Latin Post.

Complete List of winners

Best Feature: "Birdman"

Best Actor: Michael Keaton-"Birdman"

Best Actress: Julianne Moore-"Still Alice"

Best Documentary: "Citizenfour"

Gotham Independent Audience Award: "Boyhood"

Breakthrough Director Award: Anna Lily Amirpour - "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night"

Breakthrough Actor Award: Tessa Thompson - "Dear White People"

Best Ensemble:Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum - "Foxcatcher"

Live the Dream Grant: Chole Zhao - "Songs My Brothers Taught Me"

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