You could probably argue about how “independent” many of the nominees for this year’s Independent Apirit Awards are, but there is no denying that those responsibile for nominating the films for the awards ceremony really like Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and David O. Russell’s The Silver Linings Playbook. Each of the films received nominations in five categories and are going head-to-head in the Best Feature film, Best Director and Best Screenplay categories.
The Nominees for the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards:
BEST FEATURE:
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Bernie
Keep the Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev – The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs – Keep the Lights On
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh – Seven Psychopaths
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias – Keep the Lights On
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Fill the Void – (Director: Rama Burshtein, Producer: Assaf Amir)
Gimme the Loot – (Director: Adam Leon, Producers: Dominic Buchanan, Natalie Difford, Jamund Washington)
Safety Not Guaranteed – (Director: Colin Trevorrow, Producers: Derek Connolly, Stephanie Langhoff, Peter Saraf, Colin Trevorrow, Marc Turtletaub)
Sound of My Voice – (Director: Zal Batmanglij, Producers: Brit Marling, Hans Ritter, Shelley Surpin)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – (Director: Stephen Chbosky, Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith)
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Rama Burshtein – Fill the Void
Derek Connolly – Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford – Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones & Will McCormack – Celeste and Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki – Gayby
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.
Breakfast with Curtis – WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Laura Colella
Middle of Nowhere – WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ava DuVernay, PRODUCERS: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes
Mosquita y Mari – WRITER/DIRECTOR: Aurora Guerrero, PRODUCER: Chad Burris
Starlet – WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sean Baker, PRODUCERS: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Francesca Silvestri
The Color Wheel – WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Alex Ross Perry, WRITER: Carlen Altman
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Linda Cardellini – Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi – Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Smashed
BEST MALE LEAD
Jack Black – Bernie
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes – The Sessions
Thure Lindhardt – Keep the Lights On
Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce – Four
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Rosemarie DeWitt – Your Sister’s Sister
Ann Dowd – Compliance
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Brit Marling – Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint – Middle of Nowhere
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike
David Oyelowo – Middle of Nowhere
Michael Péna – End of Watch
Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis – Moonrise Kingdom
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Yoni Brook – Valley of Saints
Lol Crawley – Here
Ben Richardson – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov – End of Watch
Robert Yeoman – Moonrise Kingdom
BEST DOCUMENTARY
How to Survive a Plague
Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present
The Central Park Five
The Invisible War
The Waiting Room
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Amour – (France) Director: Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time in Anatolia – (Turkey) Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust And Bone – (France/Belgium) Director: Jacques Audiard
Sister – (Switzerland) Director: Ursula Meier
War Witch – (Democratic Republic of Congo/Canada) Director: Kim Nguyen
16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 16th annual Piaget Producers Award 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.
Nobody Walks – Producer: Alicia Van Couvering
Prince Avalanche – Producer: Derrick Tseng
Stones in the Sun – Producer: Mynette Louie
19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 19th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Pincus – Director: David Fenster
Gimme the Loot – Director: Adam Leon
Electrick Children – Director: Rebecca Thomas
STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 18th annual Truer Than Fiction Award 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.
Leviathan – Director: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
The Waiting Room – Director: Peter Nicks
Only the Young – Director: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Starlet – Director: Sean Baker, Casting Director: Julia Kim, Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone