’12 Years a Slave’ & ‘All is Lost’ Big Nominees at 29th Spirit Awards
12 Years and Slave and All is Lost lead the pack of nominees at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards, the 29th year it’s been in existence. Nominations were read recently live on TV at a ceremony hosted by Octavia Spencer and Paula Patton.
Steve McQueen’s dramatic take on Solomon Northrup’s tragic kidnapping into 19th century slavery in America was given nominations for Picture, Director, Script, three for its cast (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o) and its cinematography. Another big notable was for All is Lost, the Robert Redford sea-bound thriller, which picked up four nominations. Other notables are Before Midnight (Actress and Script) and Nebraska (picture, director Alexander Payne, actor Bruce Dern). Already these and other films are picking up awards at city critic circles (NYFCC) and the National Board of Review.
’12 Years a Slave’, a major awards contender across the board
This year, as in some recent ones, the Independent Spirit Awards are a marker of some of the finest in film in and outside Hollywood, abroad, and films ranging from a $1,000 to $20 million can compete in a number of categories. Some of these will be films you haven’t heard of (i.e. Let the Fire Burn), as they are under the radar in art-houses and smaller cities (or VOD) to the point where the filmmakers are awarded grants (see below for the Stella Artois award for non-fiction for example)
Furthermore, awards are named after iconic independent directors like John Cassavetes (specifically for those films that were made for under $500,000), and the Robert Altman award for a single film that displayed significant independent spirit (this year it goes to Jeff Nichols’ Mud starring Matthew McConaughey). Also for the first time this year an award will be given for Best Editing.
Winners will be announced live on the IFC Channel (in the US) Saturday March 1st, the night before the Oscars, and hosted by comedian and actor Patton Oswalt. It’s always a lively show – since it’s on IFC it’s un-edited for any moments of linguistic ‘flair’ (i.e. cursing) that may let loose – and like the Globes attendees are allowed to imbibe.
Here are the nominees:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers not awarded)
| 12 Years a Slave | PRODUCERS: Dede Gardner, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad |
| All Is Lost | PRODUCERS: Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb |
| Frances Ha | PRODUCERS: Noah Baumbach, Scott Rudin, Rodrigo Teixeira, Lila Yacoub |
| Inside Llewyn Davis | PRODUCERS: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin |
| Nebraska | PRODUCERS: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa |
BEST FEMALE LEAD
| Cate Blanchett | Blue Jasmine |
| Julie Delpy | Before Midnight |
| Gaby Hoffmann | 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 |
James Gandolfini’s nomination marks this year’s only posthumous nod
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 & Richard Linklater | Before Midnight |
| Nicole Holofcener | Enough Said |
| Scott Neustadter &Michael H. Weber | The Spectacular Now |
| John Ridley | 12 Years a Slave |
Upstream Color by Shane Caruth
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
| Blue Caprice | DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Alexandre Moors PRODUCERS: Kim Jackson, Brian O’Carroll, Isen Robbins, Will Rowbotham, Ron Simons, Aimee Schoof, Stephen Tedeschi |
| Concussion | DIRECTOR: Stacie Passon PRODUCER: Rose Troche |
| Fruitvale Station | DIRECTOR: Ryan Coogler PRODUCERS: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker |
| Una Noche | DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Lucy Mulloy PRODUCERS: Sandy Pérez Aguila, Maite Artieda, Daniel Mulloy, Yunior Santiago |
| Wadjda | DIRECTOR: Haifaa Al Mansour PRODUCERS: Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul |
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 |
Computer Chess
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. (Award given to the writer, director, and producer; Executive Producers not awarded)
| Computer Chess | WRITER/DIRECTOR: Andrew Bujalski PRODUCERS: Houston King & Alex Lipschultz |
| Crystal Fairy | WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sebastiàn Silva PRODUCERS: Juan de Dios Larraín & Pablo Larraín |
| Museum Hours | WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jem Cohen PRODUCERS: Paolo Calamita & Gabriele Kranzelbinder |
| Pit Stop | WRITER/DIRECTOR: Yen Tan WRITER: David Lowery PRODUCERS: Jonathan Duffy, James M. Johnston, Eric Steele, Kelly Williams |
| This is Martin Bonner | WRITER/DIRECTOR: Chad Hartigan PRODUCER: Cherie Saulter |
Benoit Debie for Spring Breakers (one of the most “colorful” films this year)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
| Sean Bobbitt | 12 Years a Slave |
| Benoit Debie | Spring Breakers |
| Bruno Delbonnel | Inside Llewyn Davis |
| Frank G. DeMarco | All Is Lost |
| Matthias Grunsky | Computer Chess |
BEST EDITING
| Shane Carruth & David Lowery | Upstream Color |
| Jem Cohen & Marc Vives | Museum Hours |
| Jennifer Lame | Frances Ha |
| Cindy Lee | Una Noche |
| Nat Sanders | Short Term 12 |
The Act of Killing
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
| 20 Feet From Stardom | DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Morgan Neville PRODUCERS: Gil Friesen & Caitrin Rogers |
| After Tiller | DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: Martha Shane & Lana Wilson |
| Gideon’s Army | DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Dawn Porter PRODUCER: Julie Goldman |
| The Act of Killing | DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Joshua Oppenheimer PRODUCERS: Joram Ten Brink, Christine Cynn, Anne Köhncke, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Michael Uwemedimo |
| The Square | DIRECTOR: Jehane Noujaim PRODUCER: Karim Amer |
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
| A Touch of Sin (China) | DIRECTOR: Jia Zhang-Ke |
| Blue is the Warmest Color (France) | DIRECTOR: Abdellatif Kechiche |
| Gorila (Chile) | DIRECTOR: Sebastián Lelio |
| The Great Beauty (Italy) | DIRECTOR: Paolo Sorrentino |
|
The Hunt (Denmark) |
DIRECTOR: Thomas Vinterberg |
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast.
| Mud | Director: Jeff Nichols |
| 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 |
17th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – This honors emerging producers who revealed creativity, tenacity and vision despite the limited resources in making quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 grant funded by Piaget.
| Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnston |
| Jacob Jaffke |
| Andrea Roa |
| Frederick Thornton |
Newlyweeds
20th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
| My Sister’s Quinceañera | DIRECTOR: Aaron Douglas Johnston |
| Newlyweeds | DIRECTOR: Shaka King |
| The Foxy Merkins | DIRECTOR: Madeline Olnek |
19th ANNUAL STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition – a $25,000 grant included.
| Kalyanee Mam | A River Changes Course |
| Jason Osder | Let the Fire Burn |
| Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez | Manakamana |
Are you excited about these nominations? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @FocusFilmOnline
