The 18th Annual Gotham Awards took place on December 2 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The awards, presented by the IFP, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, is one of the leading awards ceremonies for independent film and the first major honors of the film awards season. At this year’s awards, hosted by Aasif Mandvi of "The Daily Show," the IFP presented tributes to wOw’s own Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films; actor Penélope Cruz; and filmmakers Gus Van Sant and Melvin Van Peebles. Liz Smith presented Sheila’s award to her. Read on for her introduction. Click here to see photos of the event.

Ladies and gents … I am getting really tired of people saying, “I’d give anything to know Sheila Nevins,” or, “Please seat me by Sheila Nevins,” or, “You know Sheila Nevins?!! Could you introduce me?” It’s exhausting to be the pal of a legend, an icon, a superstar when one personally knows this glorified girl as a dizzy, ditzy, witty nutcase, one who is forever discussing Botox, diets, makeup tips and where to find the best pantyhose. In other words, Sheila Nevins always appears to me like the girl next door, your best friend, the chum you tell everything to. It’s a shock to learn that Sheila is a VIP, the queen of wide-world documentaries, the brightest star in the nebulae that is HBO reality and for all I know, a contender for the Nobel prize.

I’ve grown closer to Sheila because we contribute to the wowOwow.com website. But Sheila will only write fiction for us. We can’t get her to dish or do those girly things I mentioned. She refuses to tell us a little about what life is like at HBO where she works those 18-hour days. The least we expected of Sheila was high-level TV gossip. What James Gandolfini is really like? Inside tips on working with Elaine Stritch and living to tell about it, a few gems of wisdom from that great philosopher madam Heidi Fleiss and whether or not she, Sheila, slept with Roman Polanski.

But no. Sheila remains the unpredictable. They say she is tough minded, dictatorial, hard-driving, just like all those men I used to work for in TV – you know Mike Wallace, Allen Funt, Fred Friendly. You name them. Sheila is their match.

Personally I find Sheila a softhearted easy touch, generous and genial but this doesn’t stop her from being hell on wheels in TV land. She brings important film to millions who’ve never seen such gems before. She has created a new venue for filmmakers. She is a champion to anyone who ever looked through a viewfinder or tried a new technique. Her documentaries have earned nine Oscars, 13 primetime Emmys, ten Academy Awards, plus the Peabody and one George Foster for her own Lifetime Achievement. She can cook too!

Click here to see photos of the event.

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