Leads way with 6 noms; "Boyhood," "Nightcrawler," "Selma" next with 5 nods apiece
Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) led the 2015 Film Independent Spirits Award nominations pack with six–Best Feature, Best Director for Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Best Cinematography for Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, Best Actor for Michael Keaton, Supporting Actress for Emma Stone, and Supporting Actor for Edward Norton.
Besides Birdman, the other Best Feature nominations were bestowed upon Boyhood, Love Is Strange, Selma and Whiplash.
Both Selma and Boyhood scored five nominations apiece, along with Nightcrawler.
Boyhood also earned nominations for Richard Linklater as Best Director, Sandra Adair as Best Editor, Ethan Hawke as Best Supporting Actor and Patricia Arquette as Best Supporting Actress.
Selma’s other noms were for Ava DuVernay as Best Director, Bradford Young for Best Cinematography, David Oyelowo as Best Male Lead and Carmen Ejogo as Best Supporting Female.
Nightcrawler’s five nominations were for Best First Feature, Best Screenplay for director/writer Dan Gilroy, Best Editing for John Gilroy, Best Male Lead for Jake Gyllenhaal, and Best Supporting Male for Riz Ahmed.
Scoring four nominations apiece were Love Is Strange (including for Best Feature and Best Screenplay), and Whiplash (including for Best Feature and Best Director–Damien Chazelle).
“As we celebrate 30 years of great independent film, this year’s nominees are an astonishingly strong group of films and filmmakers which demonstrate the uniqueness of vision we honor at this show,” said John Welsh, president of Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA.
Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 21, 2015. The awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. This year the show will broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 2 PM PT/ 5PM ET.
Robert Altman Awards; Special Distinction Honor
Inherent Vice was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts.
“Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice is a testament to the spirit of Altman’s tradition of artistic collaboration,” said Welsh. “The film features an exquisite ensemble of actors masterfully directed and cast.”
Film Independent also awarded a Special Distinction Award to Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher for its uniqueness of vision, honesty of direction and screenwriting, superb acting and achievement on every level of filmmaking. Due to Spirit Awards guidelines, Inherent Vice and Foxcatcher were not eligible for individual nominations.
Here’s a full rundown of 2015 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations:
BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the producer)
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
PRODUCERS: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole
BOYHOOD
PRODUCERS: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland
LOVE IS STRANGE
PRODUCERS: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen,
Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy
SELMA
PRODUCERS: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey
WHIPLASH
PRODUCERS: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook,
David Lancaster, Michael Litvak
BEST FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)
A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT
DIRECTOR: Ana Lily Amirpour
PRODUCERS: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah
DEAR WHITE PEOPLE
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Justin Simien
PRODUCERS: Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev,
Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe
NIGHTCRAWLER
DIRECTOR: Dan Gilroy
PRODUCERS: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy,
Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak
OBVIOUS CHILD
DIRECTOR: Gillian Robespierre
PRODUCER: Elisabeth Holm
SHE’S LOST CONTROL
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Anja Marquardt
PRODUCERS: Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
BLUE RUIN
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jeremy Saulnier
PRODUCERS: Richard Peete, Vincent Savino,
Anish Savjani
IT FELT LIKE LOVE
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Eliza Hittman
PRODUCERS: Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner
LAND HO!
WRITERS/DIRECTORS: Aaron Katz,
Martha Stephens
PRODUCERS: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy
MAN FROM RENO
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Dave Boyle
WRITERS: Joel Clark, Michael Lerman
PRODUCER: Ko Mori
TEST
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER:
Chris Mason Johnson
PRODUCER: Chris Martin
BEST DIRECTOR
DAMIEN CHAZELLE – Whiplash
AVA DUVERNAY – Selma
ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU – Birdman or
(The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
RICHARD LINKLATER – Boyhood
DAVID ZELLNER – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
BEST SCREENPLAY
SCOTT ALEXANDER, LARRY KARASZEWSKI –Big Eyes
J.C. CHANDOR – A Most Violent Year
DAN GILROY – Nightcrawler
JIM JARMUSCH – Only Lovers Left Alive
IRA SACHS, MAURICIO ZACHARIAS –Love is Strange
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
DESIREE AKHAVAN – Appropriate Behavior
SARA COLANGELO – Little Accidents
JUSTIN LADER – The One I Love
ANJA MARQUARDT – She’s Lost Control
JUSTIN SIMIEN – Dear White People
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
DARIUS KHONDJI – The Immigrant
EMMANUEL LUBEZKI – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
SEAN PORTER – It Felt Like Love
LYLE VINCENT – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
BRADFORD YOUNG – Selma
BEST EDITING
SANDRA ADAIR – Boyhood
TOM CROSS – Whiplash
JOHN GILROY – Nightcrawler
RON PATANE – A Most Violent Year
ADAM WINGARD – The Guest
BEST MALE LEAD
ANDRÉ BENJAMIN – Jimi: All Is By My Side
JAKE GYLLENHAAL – Nightcrawler
MICHAEL KEATON – Birdman or
(The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
JOHN LITHGOW – Love is Strange
DAVID OYELOWO – Selma
BEST FEMALE LEAD
MARION COTILLARD – The Immigrant
RINKO KIKUCHI – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
JULIANNE MOORE – Still Alice
JENNY SLATE – Obvious Child
TILDA SWINTON – Only Lovers Left Alive
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
RIZ AHMED – Nightcrawler
ETHAN HAWKE – Boyhood
ALFRED MOLINA – Love is Strange
EDWARD NORTON – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
J.K. SIMMONS – Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
PATRICIA ARQUETTE – Boyhood
JESSICA CHASTAIN – A Most Violent Year
CARMEN EJOGO – Selma
ANDREA SUAREZ PAZ – Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
EMMA STONE – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
FORCE MAJEURE (Sweden)
DIRECTOR: Ruben Östlund
IDA (Poland)
DIRECTOR: Pawel Pawlikowski
LEVIATHAN (Russia)
DIRECTOR: Andrey Zvyagintsev
MOMMY (Canada)
DIRECTOR: Xavier Dolan
NORTE, THE END OF HISTORY (Philippines)
DIRECTOR: Lav Diaz
UNDER THE SKIN (United Kingdom)
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Glazer
BEST DOCUMENTARY
(Award given to the director and producer)
20,000 DAYS ON EARTH
DIRECTORS: Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard
PRODUCERS: Dan Bowen, James Wilson
CITIZENFOUR
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Laura Poitras
PRODUCERS: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky
STRAY DOG
DIRECTOR: Debra Granik
PRODUCER: Anne Rosellini
THE SALT OF THE EARTH
DIRECTORS: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders
PRODUCER: David Rosier
VIRUNGA
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Orlando von Einsiedel
PRODUCER: Joanna Natasegara
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Award given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
INHERENT VICE
DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson
CASTING DIRECTOR: Cassandra Kulukundis
ENSEMBLE CAST: Josh Brolin, Hong Chau,
Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Owen Wilson,
Reese Witherspoon, Michael Kenneth Williams
SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
FOXCATCHER
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Bennett Miller
WRITERS: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman
PRODUCER: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison,
Jon Kilik
CAST: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum
FILMMAKER GRANT NOMINEES
18th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
The 18th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, 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. The finalists are:
CHAD BURRIS
ELISABETH HOLM
CHRIS OHLSON
20th ANNUAL LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The 20th annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by Lenscrafters, is presented to an emerging director of non-union features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters. The finalists are:
SARA DOSA director of THE LAST SEASON
DAN KRAUSS director of THE KILL TEAM
DARIUS CLARK MONROE director of EVOLUTION OF A CRIMINAL
AMANDA ROSE WILDER director of APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT
21st ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
The 21st annual Someone To Watch Award sponsored by Kiehl’s since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s. The finalists are:
ANA LILY AMIRPOUR director of A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT
RANIA ATTIEH & DANIEL GARCIA directors of H
CHRIS ESKA director of THE RETRIEVAL
All the winners of the filmmaker grants will be highlighted at the Spirit Awards ceremony in February and announced at the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grant & Nominee Brunch on Saturday, January 10 at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More