Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations Announced
Boyhood, Kumiko earn multiple nods
By Kimberley Jones, 1:37PM, Tue. Nov. 25, 2014
The Film Independent Spirit Awards – sometimes shorthanded as the indie film Oscars – just announced its nominations, and boy, are there are a lot of happy Texans today.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Richard Linklater’s critically adored Boyhood racked up an impressive five nominations, with nods for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Supporting Female (Patricia Arquette), Best Supporting Male (Ethan Hawke), and Best Editing (by Linklater’s longtime editor, Sandra Adair).
Less preordained but just as nifty news: The Zellner Brothers’ Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, which won't open theatrically until February 2015, made the cut for Best Director and Best Female Lead (Rinko Kikuchi). Meanwhile, producer Chris Ohlson is one of three finalists for the prestigious Piaget Producers Award, which comes with a $25,000 prize.
Other Texans up for $25,000 prizes: Past winner Chris Eska, nominated for the Someone to Watch Award for his drama The Retrieval, and Houston’s Darius Clark Monroe, nominated for the Truer Than Fiction Award for his documentary Evolution of a Criminal.
Full list of nominees below. The 30th annual Independent Spirit Awards take place Feb. 21, 2015 and will be broadcast on the IFC Channel.
BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the producer; executive producers are not awarded.)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, Michel Litvak
BEST DIRECTOR
Damien ChazelleWhiplash
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 KaraszewskiBig 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 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
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Desiree AkhavanAppropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo
Little Accidents
Justin Lader
The One I Love
Anja Marquardt
She’s Lost Control
Justin Simien
Dear White People
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.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 FEMALE LEAD
Marion CotillardThe Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore
Still Alice
Jenny Slate
Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton
Only Lovers Left Alive
BEST MALE LEAD
André BenjaminJimi: 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 SUPPORTING FEMALE
Patricia ArquetteBoyhood
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 SUPPORTING MALE
Riz AhmedNightcrawler
Ethan Hawke
Boyhood
Alfred Molina
Love is Strange
Edward Norton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
J.K. Simmons
Whiplash
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Darius KhondjiThe 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 AdairBoyhood
Tom Cross
Whiplash
John Gilroy
Nightcrawler
Ron Patane
A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard
The Guest
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 and Wim Wenders, Producer: David Rosier
Virunga
Director/Producer: Orlando Von Einsiedel, Producer: Joanna Natasegara
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
(Award given to the director.)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
ROBERT ALTMAN 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, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon
SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
FoxcatcherDirector/Producer: Bennett Miller
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik
Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman
Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum
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.Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm
Chris Ohlson
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 Since 1851.A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
H.
Directors: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia
The Retrieval
Director: Chris Eska
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-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.Approaching the Elephant
Director: Amanda Rose Wilder
Evolution of a Criminal
Director: Darius Clark Monroe
The Kill Team
Director: Dan Krauss
The Last Season
Director: Sara Dosa
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Independent Spirit Awards, Austin film news, Boyhood, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, David Zellner, Zellner Bros., Richard Linklater, Chris Ohlson, Chris Eska, Sandra Adair, The Retrieval, Patricia Arquette, Rinko Kikuchi, Darius Clark Monroe