Matt Damon honoured at Gotham awards

Damon (l) and Cotillard received honorary awards at the New York event

Actors Matt Damon and Marion Cotillard have received career tributes at the 22nd annual Gotham Awards in New York.

The Fighter director David O Russell was also honoured at the event, the first in the yearly film awards season.

Wes Anderson's comedy Moonrise Kingdom was named best feature at the event, an annual ceremony held to recognise the year's best independent films.

Britain's Emily Blunt was recognised, along with her co-stars, in another indie comedy, Your Sister's Sister.

The film, about a man who sleeps with his girlfriend's sibling, beat Russell's Oscar-tipped Silver Linings Playbook to the best ensemble performance award.

Another Oscar hopeful, the critically acclaimed Beasts of the Southern Wild, saw its director Benh Zeitlin receive the breakthrough director prize.

Zeitlin also received the inaugural Bingham Ray Award, named in honour of the former United Artists president and co-founder of October Films who died in January.

Damon, who received his award from Blunt's actor husband John Krasinski, said it felt "really weird" to be honoured and joked that "people are trying to get rid of me".

Fellow Oscar winner Cotillard said she felt "very welcomed" and "very happy" as she arrived at the event, held on Monday at the Cipriani restaurant on Wall Street.

The Gotham Awards are held annually by the Independent Feature Project, a not-for-profit organisation that supports independent film-making.

Last year's event saw Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life and Christopher Plummer film Beginners share the top prize for best feature.