Nominations for the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning. The awards will be handed out the day before the Oscar on February 21, 2015. The afternoon ceremony at the beach in Santa Monica is one of the most anticipated awards shows of the season. Some of the nominees listed here are sure to be Oscar nominees as well when the Academy announces their list on January 15, 2015.
Below arethe nominees:
2015 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS
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, Michael Litvak
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 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 Akhavan Appropriate 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 Cotillard The 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 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 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 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 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 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
Foxcatcher Director/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
