Earlier today at a press conference in Los Angeles, Film Independent enlisted John Boyega and Elizabeth Olsen to announce their 31st Spirit Award nominees. (However, as Deadline explains, due to a technical glitch, the nominees were actually listed in advance of the conference, clearly leading to the embitterment of those who’d attended in hopes of breaking the news first.) Regardless of how or when news of the announcements rolled out, Film Independent Spirit Awards news is often good news, and their latest round of nominees sees them honoring films many of us would like to see (but cannot necessarily count on seeing) on some of the larger awards lists this year. In choosing their shortlists, the organization was looking for films that were “a testament to the strength, vitality and diversity of independent, artist-driven filmmaking,” said Film Independent President Josh Welsh.
Spotlight, which Flavorwire’s Jason Bailey called a “whip-smart, gripping, electrifying… incredible film,” is receiving the Robert Altman Award, which goes to one director, casting director and ensemble, and honors the power of well-conceived ensemble films. Welsh said of the decision to bestow the award on the team behind Spotlight:
Spotlight is a remarkable film that excels on every level, but the Nominating Committee thought it was especially deserving of the Robert Altman Award…The film is beautifully cast with every member of the ensemble working together to tell the story of the Boston Globe investigating allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church.
Meanwhile, the list of nominees for Best Feature is just as exciting, featuring the likes of Carol, Tangerine, Beasts of No Nation and Charlie Kaufman’s upcoming stop-motion romance, Anomalisa. The awards are honoring some of the most memorable performances of the year (many of which were from the list of films above), including newcomer Abraham Attah for his turn as a child soldier in Beasts of No Nation, Cate Blanchett for Carol, Bel Powley for Diary of a Teenage Girl and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez for Tangerine. Below is the full list of the nominees, courtesy of Film Independent. (Winners will be announced at a ceremony on February 27, which will be broadcast on IFC.)
BEST FEATURE
Anomalisa Producers: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman, Dino Stamatopoulos, Rosa Tran
Beasts of No Nation Producers: Daniel Crown, Idris Elba, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Amy Kaufman, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker
Carol Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley
Spotlight Producers: Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar
Tangerine Producers: Sean Baker, Karrie Cox, Marcus Cox, Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou
BEST FIRST FEATURE
The Diary of a Teenage Girl Director: Marielle Heller Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit
James White Director: Josh Mond Producers: Max Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, Eric Schultz
Manos Sucias Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka Producers: Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes
Mediterranea Director: Jonas Carpignano Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, Ryan Zacarias
Songs My Brothers Taught Me Director/Producer: Chloé Zhao Producers: Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, Forest Whitaker
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – (This is granted to their pick for the best feature with a budget of less than $500,000.)
Advantageous Writer/Director/Producer: Jennifer Phang Writer/Producer: Jacqueline Kim Producers: Robert Chang, Ken Jeong, Moon Molson, Theresa Navarro
Christmas, Again Writer/Director/Producer: Charles Poekel
Heaven Knows What Directors: Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie Writers: Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie Producers: Oscar Boyson, Sebastian Bear McClard
Krisha Writer/Director/Producer: Trey Edward Shults Producers: Justin R. Chan, Chase Joliet, Wilson Smith
Out of My Hand Writer/Director: Takeshi Fukunaga Writer/Producer: Donari Braxton Producer: Mike Fox
BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes Carol
Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman Anomalisa
Tom McCarthy Spotlight
David Robert Mitchell It Follows
BEST SCREENPLAY
Charlie Kaufman Anomalisa
Donald Margulies The End of the Tour
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer Spotlight
Phyllis Nagy Carol
S. Craig Zahler Bone Tomahawk
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Jesse Andrews Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jonas Carpignano Mediterranea
Emma Donoghue Room
Marielle Heller The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary Story by Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph The Mend
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cary Joji Fukunaga Beasts of No Nation
Michael Gioulakis It Follows
Ed Lachman Carol
Reed Morano Meadowland
Joshua James Richards Songs My Brothers Taught Me
BEST EDITING
Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie Heaven Knows What
Tom McArdle Spotlight
Nathan Nugent Room
Julio C. Perez IV It Follows
Kristan Sprague Manos Sucias
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Cate Blanchett Carol
Brie Larson Room
Rooney Mara Carol
Bel Powley The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez Tangerine
BEST MALE LEAD
Christopher Abbott James White
Abraham Attah Beasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn Mississippi Grind
Jason Segel The End of the Tour
Koudous Seihon Mediterranea
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Robin Bartlett H.
Marin Ireland Glass Chin
Jennifer Jason Leigh Anomalisa
Cynthia Nixon James White
Mya Taylor Tangerine
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Kevin Corrigan Results
Paul Dano Love & Mercy
Idris Elba Beasts of No Nation
Richard Jenkins Bone Tomahawk
Michael Shannon 99 Homes
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Spotlight Director: Tom McCarthy Casting Directors: Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee Ensemble Cast: Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian d’Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci
BEST DOCUMENTARY
(T)ERROR Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe Producer: Christopher St. John
Best of Enemies Directors/Producers: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville
Heart of a Dog Director/Producer: Laurie Anderson Producer: Dan Janvey
The Look of Silence Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen
Meru Directors/Producers: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Producer: Shannon Ethridge
The Russian Woodpecker Director/Producer: Chad Gracia Producers: Ram Devineni, Mike Lerner
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia) Director: Ciro Guerra
Girlhood (France) Director: Céline Sciamma
Mustang (France, Turkey) Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden) Director: Roy Andersson
Son of Saul (Hungary) Director: László Nemes
19th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – (This is a $25,000 grant for producers who worked creatively with limited resources)
Darren Dean Mel Eslyn Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith
22nd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – (This is a $25,000 award given to an up-and-coming filmmaker who they’ve deemed needs more recognition)
God Bless the Child Directors: Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
King Jack Director: Felix Thompson
Songs My Brothers Taught Me Director: Chloé Zhao
21st TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – (This is a $25,000 award granted to a non-fiction up-and-coming filmmaker who they’ve deemed needs more recognition.)
Among the Believers Directors: Mohammed Ali Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi
Incorruptible Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
A Woman Like Me Directors: Elizabeth Giamatti and Alex Sichel