May 26, 2012

Who’s Got Spirit?

2012 Independent Spirit Award nominees announced; The Artist and Take Shelter lead the pack with five each

by Rebecca Pahle | Published November 29, 2011

With the Gotham Awards having taken place last night, awards season is now in full swing, and will stay that way until the Oscars air this February. For those who prefer their awards ceremonies a bit more laid-back than the evening gown- and tuxedo-filled affair that comes to the Kodak Theater annually, there’s the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which honors the best in independent moviemaking. The 27th annual Spirit Awards ceremony, which will be held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, California, doesn’t take place until February 25th—but luckily for those of you who can’t get enough awards season coverage, the nominees were announced today.

This year’s nominees, states Film Independent’s senior director Sean McManus, “tell their stories in such an authentic way and reflect the inclusive nature of the independent filmmaking community. We are delighted to support them and expand the audience for their work.”

Among the films to be nominated are The Artist and Take Shelter; the indie favorites received five nominations each and will go head-to-head in the Best Feature, Best Director and Best Actor categories. The recipient of the 2012 Robert Altman Award, given each year to a film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast, is J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call, which was also nominated in the Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay categories.

A complete list of nominees is below; the awards ceremony will air on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) on the evening of February 25th, 2012. For more information, visit www.filmindependent.org.

Best Feature
The Artist
 Beginners
 The Descendants
 Drive
 50/50
 Take Shelter

Best Director
 Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 
Mike Mills, Beginners 
Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter 
Alexander Payne, The Descendants 
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Best Screenplay 
Joseph Cedar, Footnote
 Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
 Thomas McCarthy, Win Win 
Mike Mills, Beginners 
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best First Feature 
Another Earth 
In the Family
 Margin Call
 Martha Marcy May Marlene
 Natural Selection

Best First Screenplay
 Mike Cahill and Brit Marling, Another Earth
 J.C. Chandor, Margin Call 
Patrick Dewitt, Terri 
Phil Johnston, Cedar Rapids
 Will Reiser, 50/50

John Cassavetes Award
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
Bellflower 
Circumstance
 Hello Lonesome
 Pariah
 The Dynamiter

Best Female Lead
 Lauren Ambrose, Think of Me
 Rachael Harris, Natural Selection 
Adepero Oduye, Pariah 
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
 Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Male Lead
 Demián Bichir, A Better Life 
Jean Dujardin, The Artist 
Ryan Gosling, Drive 
Woody Harrelson, Rampart
 Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Supporting Female
 Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
 Anjelica Huston, 50/50 
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs 
Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road 
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Supporting Male 
Albert Brooks, Drive 
John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene 
Christopher Plummer, Beginners 
John C. Reilly, Cedar Rapids
 Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris

Best Cinematography
 Joel Hodge, Bellflower
 Benjamin Kasulke, The Off Hours
 Darius Khondji, Midnight in Paris 
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
 Jeffrey Waldron, The Dynamiter

Best Documentary
 An African Election
 Bill Cunningham New York 
The Interrupters
 The Redemption of General Butt Naked
 We Were Here

Best International Film
 A Separation
 Melancholia 
Shame
 The Kid with a Bike 
Tyrannosaur

Piaget Producers Award
 Chad Burris, Mosquita y Mari 
Sophia Lin, Take Shelter 
Josh Mond, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Someone to Watch Award
 Simon Arthur, Silver Tongues
 Mark Jackson, Without
 Nicholas Ozeki, Mamitas

Truer Than Fiction Award
 Heather Courtney, Where Soldiers Come From 
Danfung Dennis, Hell and Back Again 
Alma Har’El, Bombay Beach

Robert Altman Award
Margin Call