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30th Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced

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30th Film Independent Spirit Awards Announced for 2015.

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA, announced nominations for the 2015 Spirit Awards this morning. Film Independent President Josh Welsh presided over the press conference held at the W Hollywood, with actors Rosario Dawson and Diego Luna presenting the nominations. Nominees for Best Feature included Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Boyhood, Love is Strange, Selma and Whiplash.

 

“As we celebrate 30 years of great independent film,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent, “this year’s nominees are an astonishingly strong group of films and filmmakers which demonstrate the uniqueness of vision we honor at this show.”

 

Inherent Vice was 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.

“Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice is a testament to the spirit of Altman’s tradition of artistic collaboration,” said Welsh. “The film features an exquisite ensemble of actors masterfully directed and cast.”

 

Film Independent also awarded a Special Distinction Award to Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher for its uniqueness of vision, honesty of direction and screenwriting, superb acting and achievement on every level of filmmaking. Due to Spirit Awards guidelines, Inherent Vice and Foxcatcher were not eligible for individual nominations.

 

Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 21, 2015. The awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. This year the show will broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 2:00 PM PT/ 5:00 PM 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 10, 2015, at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.

 

The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees selected nominees from 341 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.

 

Over the past 30 years the Film Independent Spirit Awards has made a name for itself as the premiere awards show for the independent film community. Artists who have received industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Joel and Ethan Coen, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Edward Burns, Aaron Eckhart, Neil LaBute, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Hilary Swank, Marc Forster, Todd Field, Christopher Nolan, Zach Braff, Amy Adams, Lena Dunham and many more.

 

The Film Independent Spirit Awards are sponsored by Premier Sponsors Piaget, The Lincoln Motor Company, Bank of America, Heineken and IFC. T-Mobile is the Official Arrivals Show Sponsor and FIJI Water is the Official Water of the 2015 Spirit Awards. WireImage is the Official Photographer of Film Independent.

 

The Spirit Awards is the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs. To inquire about individual seating and tables at the Spirit Awards, please contact Jennifer Murby at jmurby@filmindependent.org or 310.432.1253.

 

For more information  Spirit Awards, please visit spiritawards.com.

 

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

 

 

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