The nominees for the 29th Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced earlier today. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Spirit Awards, it honors and celebrates the year’s achievements of independent film. All too often, especially during the awards season when most of the attention is geared towards the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, independent films and the artistry behind them are undeservedly left in the dark. Sometimes however, the Spirit Awards leads many films on the road to Oscar glory.
Some of the nominees, such as Steve McQueen’s powerful film 12 Years A Slave, Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost, and the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis all have very good chances of receiving Oscar nominations in multiple categories. 12 Years A Slave leads the pack of nominees with a total of seven nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead, Best Supporting Male, and Best Supporting Female. The film was also nominated for its masterful cinematography and John Ridley’s screenplay.
Alexander Payne’s black-and-white dramedy Nebraska trailed slightly behind 12 Years A Slave in total nominations, earning a total of six including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead, Best Supporting Male Lead, Best Supporting Female Lead, and Best First Screenplay. Although the film has been warmly received by critics and has been doing well in its limited theatrical release so far, the film hasn’t been on the radar for considerable Oscar buzz, despite a nomination lock for Bruce Dern’s leading performance. With the amount of nominations, Nebraska could potentially earn some more Oscar love.
Other notable nominees include Inside Llewyn Davis, All Is Lost, and Blue Jasmine. It’s also worthy to mention the nominations for the engaging indie drama Short Term 12. Brie Larson deservedly earned a nomination for Best Female Lead and newcomer Keith Stanfield earned a nomination for Best Supporting Male for his impressive performance as a troubled teenager.
It’s actually shocking to notice that the film itself was snubbed out from the Best Feature category as well as Best Director and Best Screenplay. It’s easily one of the best films of the year, alongside Frances Ha and The Spectacular Now, which oddly didn’t receive as many nominations as I was expecting. (Note: How can you not nominate Greta Gerwig for her charming performance in Frances Ha or Miles Teller for his Oscar-worthy performance The Spectacular Now? It doesn’t make sense to me.)
Below is a complete list of nominees for the 29th Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will be held on March 1st, 2014 and will be hosted by Patton Oswalt.
BEST FEATURE
12 Years A Slave
All Is Lost
Frances Ha
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
BEST DIRECTOR
Shane Carruth – Upstream Color
J.C. Chandor – All Is Lost
Steve McQueen – 12 Years A Slave
Jeff Nichols – Mud
Alexander Payne – Nebraska
BEST SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater – Before Midnight
Nicole Holofcener – Enough Said
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber – The Spectacular Now
John Ridley – 12 Years A Slave
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Blue Caprice – Alexandre Moors (producer/director), Kim Jackson, Brian O’Carroll, Isen Robbins, Will Rowbotham, Ron Simons, Aimee Schoof, Stephen Tedeschi (producers)
Concussion – Stacie Passon (director), Rose Troche (producer)
Fruitvale Station – Ryan Coogler (director), Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker (producers)
Una Noche – Lucy Mulloy (producer/director), Sandy Pérez Aguila, Maite Artieda, Daniel Mulloy, Yunior Santiago (producers)
Wadjda – Haifaa Al Mansour (director), Gehard Meixner and Roman Paul (producers)
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Lake Bell – In A World
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Don Jon
Bob Nelson – Nebraska
Jill Soloway – Afternoon Delight
Michael Starrbury – The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (given to the best feature made for under $500,000. The award will be given to the writer, director, and producer.)
Computer Chess – Andrew Bujalski (writer/director), Houston King and Alex Lipschultz (producers)
Crystal Fairy – Sebastián Silva (writer/director), Juan de Dios Larraín and Pablo Larraín (producers)
Museum Hours – Jem Cohen (writer/director), Paolo Calamita and Gabriele Kranzelbinder (producers)
Pit Stop – Yen Tan (director), David Lowery (writer), Jonathan Duffy, James M. Johnston, Eric Steele, Kelly Williams (Producers)
This is Martin Bonner – Chad Hartigan (writer/director), Cherie Saulter (producer)
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy – Before Midnight
Gaby Hoffman – Crystal Fairy
Brie Larson – Short Term 12
Shailene Woodley – The Spectacular Now
BEST MALE LEAD
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years A Slave
Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis
Michael B. Jordan – Fruitvale Station
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford – All Is Lost
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Melonie Diaz – Fruitvale Station
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years A Slave
Yolonda Ross – Go For Sisters
June Squibb – Nebraska
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years A Slave
Will Forte – Nebraska
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club
Keith Stanfield – Short Term 12
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 Years A Slave
Spring Breakers
Inside Llewyn Davis
All Is Lost
Computer Chess
BEST EDITING
Shane Carruth and David Lowery – Upstream Color
Jem Cohen and Marc Vives – Museum Hours
Jennifer Lame – Frances Ha
Cindy Lee – Una Noche
Nat Sanders – Short Term 12
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
20 Feet From Stardom
After Tiller
Gideon’s Army
The Act of Killing
The Square
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
A Touch of Sin (China)
Blue is the Warmest Color (France)
Gloria (Chile)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (award given to the film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Mud – Jeff Nichols (director)
Casting Director: Francine Maisler
Ensemble Cast: Joe Don Baker, Jacob Lofland, Matthew McConaughey, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon, Sam Shepard, Tye Sheridan, Paul Sparks, Bonnie Sturdivant, Reese Witherspoon
20th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD (This award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.)
Aaron Douglas Johnston – My Sister’s Quinceañera
Shaka King – Newlyweeds
Madeline Olnek – The Foxy Merkins
19th ANNUAL STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD (The award, sponsored by Stella Artois, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received recognition for his or her work. The award includes a $25,000 grant.)
Kalyanee Mam – A River Changes Course
Jason Osder – Let The Fire Burn
Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez – Manakamana
