News: Independent Spirit Award Nominations Announced
The Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced today. It’s one of the major pre-cursors for the Oscars. It focuses on independent/low budget films so you won’t see some of the big contenders nominated here. Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom, & Silver Linings Playbook needed to do well here and they did. All three of those films picked up major nominations and will be ones to watch in the upcoming weeks. Matthew McConaughey is a double nominee for both Lead Actor & Supporting Male. Maybe his strong body of work this year will equal a first-time Oscar nomination.
The Gotham Award winners were also announced yesterday. I updated those winners plus the ISA nominees on the Critics Award page. Once more awards are announced, that page will fill up and you’ll see which films/actors are getting the most critical support.
Nominations for the 28th Annual Independent Spirit Awards:
*Winners Will Be Announced on February 23rd*
Best Feature:
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Bernie
Keep the Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
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
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 Female Lead:
Linda Cardellini, Return
Emayatzu Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed
Best Supporting Male:
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere
Michael Pena, End of Watch
Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom
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 Screenplay:
Keep the Lights On – Ira Sachs
Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Ruby Sparks – Zoe Kazan
Seven Psychopaths – Martin McDonagh
Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell
Best First Screenplay:
Celeste and Jesse Forever – Rashida Jones & Will McCormack
Fill the Void – Rama Burshtein
Gayby – Jonathan Lisecki
Robot & Frank – Christopher Ford
Safety Not Guaranteed – Derek Connolly
Best First Feature
Fill the Void – Rama Burshtein
Gimme the Loot – Adam Leon
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
Safety Not Guaranteed – Colin Trevorrow
Sound of My Voice – Zal Batmanglij
Best Documentary:
The Central Park Five – Ken Burns, Sarah Burns & David McMahon
How to Survive a Plague – David France
The Invisible War – Kirby Dick
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present – Matthew Akers
The Waiting Room – Peter Nicks
Best International Film:
Amour – Michael Haneke (France)
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia – Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)
Rust and Bone – Jacques Audiard (France/Belgium)
Sister – Ursula Meier (Switzerland)
War Witch – Kim Nguyen (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Best Cinematography:
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Ben Richardson
End of Watch – Roman Vasyanov
Here – Lol Crawley
Moonrise Kingdom – Robert Yeoman
Valley of Saints – Yoni Brook
The 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 – Alicia Van Couvering (producer)
Prince Avalanche Derrick Tseng (producer)
Stones in the Sun – Mynette Louie (producer)
The 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.)
Electrick Children – Rebecca Thomas (director)
Gimme the Loot – Adam Leon (director)
Pincus – David Fenster (director)
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 – Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel (directors)
Only the Young – Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims (directors)
The Waiting Room – Peter Nicks (director)
Robert Altman Award
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Starlet
–Sean Baker (director); Julia Kim (casting director)–
–Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone (cast)–