NEW YORK CITY: Celine Song's wistful romance 'Past Lives' earned top honors at the Gotham Awards on Monday night at an award-season kickoff where the night's biggest drama came in a political speech by Robert De Niro that he claimed had been edited without his permission.

A breakout at the Sundance Film Festival in January and an arthouse hit in June for independent studio A24, 'Past Lives' may be poised to be an Oscar sleeper this year after winning best feature film at the Gothams. Affection is strong for Korean-Canadian Song's directorial debut, starring Greta Lee as a woman born in Seoul who, after marrying an American (John Magaro), reconnects with a childhood friend from South Korea (Teo Yoo).