Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the LA Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA, announced nominations for the 2016 Spirit Awards. Nominees for Best Feature are Anomalisa, Beasts of No Nation, Carol, Spotlight and Tangerine. The Todd Haynes-directed Carol topped the field with a total of six nominations followed by Beasts of No Nation with five.
Anomalisa, Spotlight and Tangerine each garnered four nods, with the Tom McCarthy-directed Spotlight additionally 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.
“Spotlight is a remarkable film that excels on every level, but the Nominating Committee thought it was especially deserving of the Robert Altman Award,” said Josh Welsh, president of Film Independent. “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.”
The five nominated pictures for Best Feature also earned Best Director nominations: Sean Baker for Tangerine, Cary Fukunaga for Beasts of No Nation, Haynes for Carol, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s for the animated Anomalisa, and McCarthy for Spotlight. Additionally up for the Best Director honor is David Robert Mitchell for It Follows.
Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 27, 2016. The awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, in a new location this year just north of the Santa Monica Pier. The show will broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 2pm PT/5pm ET.
Winners of the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants will be highlighted during the awards ceremony and announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants and Nominee Brunch on Saturday, January 9, 2016, at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.
The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees selected nominees from 362 submissions this year and applied the following guidelines in determining the nominations: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter, economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost and individual compensation) and percentage of financing from independent sources. The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees are comprised of writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors, critics, casting directors, film festival programmers and other working film professionals.
In addition to celebrating the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking, the Spirit Awards is also the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity in the industry.
Here’s a rundown of 2016 Spirit Award nominations:
BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
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
(Award given to the director and producer)
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 – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
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 – (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
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 (Award given to the director and producer)
(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 (Award given to the director)
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 – The 19th 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.
Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn
Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith
22nd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 22nd 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 Since 1851.
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 – The 21st 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.
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
