Last night, the Gothams awarded some of this year’s best indies, giving us a good idea of which independent films will be serious contenders for Oscar season. Now, just announced are the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees. I guess you can say the Spirit Awards are like “Oscars” for indies. They are an even better indication of which films will have a resounding presence in the upcoming months.
I always find the Spirit nominees to be much more satisfying. It gives recognition to performances that I loved or greatly enjoyed and I know the Academy won’t acknowledge. As I read though the list of this year’s nominees, I’m happy to see Michael Pena receive recognition for his fantastic work in End of Watch. (I interviewed him about the movie and his performance back in September.) As I predicted in an earlier Oscar Buzz post, Matthew McConaughey was nominated for Magic Mike, and in addition, he nabbed a lead actor nomination for Killer Joe. I’m also excited to see Celeste and Jesse Forever, Gimme the Loot, Smashed, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Ruby Sparks get some Spirits love. It’s no surprise that Gothams’ winners Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild secured many nominations. The much-acclaimed Silver Linings Playbook nabbed a ton of nominations, including Best Feature; Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are lead acting nominees, along with David O. Russell, who was nominated for both Best Screenplay and Director.
The 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony takes place the day before the Oscars, Saturday, February 23rd. It will air on IFC that night. See all the nominees after the jump!
Beasts of the Southern Wild, PRODUCERS: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey & Josh Penn
Bernie, PRODUCERS: Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams
Keep the Lights On, PRODUCERS: Marie Therese Guirgis, Lucas Joaquin, Ira Sachs
Moonrise Kingdom, PRODUCERS: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin
Silver Linings Playbook, PRODUCERS: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon
BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson — Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev — The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell — Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs — Keep the Lights On
Benh Zeitlin — Beasts of the Southern Wild
Advertisement
BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola — Moonrise Kingdom
Zoe Kazan — Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh — Seven Psychopaths
David O. Russell — Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs — Keep the Lights On
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Fill the Void — DIRECTOR: Rama Burshtein, PRODUCER: Assaf Amir
Gimme the Loot — DIRECTOR: Adam Leon, PRODUCERS: Dominic Buchanan, Natalie Difford, Jamund Washington
Safety Not Guaranteed — DIRECTOR: Colin Trevorrow, PRODUCERS: Derek Connolly, Stephanie Langhoff, Peter Saraf, Colin Trevorrow, Marc Turtletaub
Sound of My Voice — DIRECTOR: Zal Batmanglij, PRODUCERS: Brit Marling, Hans Ritter, Shelley Surpin
The Perks of Being a Wallflower — DIRECTOR: Stephen Chbosky, PRODUCERS: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith
Advertisement
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Rama Burshtein — Fill the Void
Derek Connolly — Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford — Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones & Will McCormack — Celeste and Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki — Gayby
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
Breakfast with Curtis
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Laura Colella
Advertisement
Middle of Nowhere
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ava DuVernay
PRODUCERS: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes
Mosquita y Mari
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Aurora Guerrero
PRODUCER: Chad Burris
Starlet
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sean Baker
PRODUCERS: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Francesca Silvestri
The Color Wheel
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Alex Ross Perry
WRITER: Carlen Altman
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Linda Cardellini — Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi — Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence — Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis — Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead — Smashed
BEST MALE LEAD
Jack Black — Bernie
Bradley Cooper — Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes — The Sessions
Thure Lindhardt — Keep the Lights On
Matthew McConaughey — Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce — Four
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Rosemarie DeWitt — Your Sister’s Sister
Ann Dowd — Compliance
Helen Hunt — The Sessions
Brit Marling — Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint — Middle of Nowhere
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matthew McConaughey — Magic Mike
David Oyelowo — Middle of Nowhere
Michael Péna — End of Watch
Sam Rockwell — Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis — Moonrise Kingdom
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Yoni Brook — Valley of Saints
Lol Crawley — Here
Ben Richardson — Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov — End of Watch
Robert Yeoman — Moonrise Kingdom
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
How to Survive a Plague
DIRECTOR: David France
PRODUCERS: David France, Howard Gertler
Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present
DIRECTOR: Matthew Akers
PRODUCERS: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre
The Central Park Five
DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
The Invisible War
DIRECTOR: Kirby Dick
PRODUCERS: Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering
The Waiting Room
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Peter Nicks
PRODUCERS: Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Amour
(France)
DIRECTOR: Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time in Anatolia
(Turkey)
DIRECTOR: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust And Bone
(France/Belgium)
DIRECTOR: Jacques Audiard
Sister
(Switzerland)
DIRECTOR: Ursula Meier
War Witch
(Democratic Republic of Congo)
DIRECTOR: Kim Nguyen
16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 16th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Nobody Walks
PRODUCER: Alicia Van Couvering
Prince Avalanche
PRODUCER: Derrick Tseng
Stones in the Sun
PRODUCER: Mynette Louie
19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 19th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Pincus
DIRECTOR: David Fenster
Gimme the Loot
DIRECTOR: Adam Leon
Electrick Children
DIRECTOR: Rebecca Thomas
STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 18th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Leviathan
DIRECTOR: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
The Waiting Room
DIRECTOR: Peter Nicks
Only the Young
DIRECTOR: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Starlet
Director: Sean Baker
Casting Director: Julia Kim
Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone
Source: ProNetworks.org
Advertisement