It’s a big day for indie film appreciation. First, last night’s 21st Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards recipients were revealed (you can read the list of winners and nominees here). And now, we can cast our judgments and make our predictions about the announcements for the 27th Annual Independent Spirit Awards nominations.
2011 was no slouch when it comes to the release of some quality independent cinema, and the Spirit Awards are paying tribute to that with its diverse list of nominees. On the list, we have comedy, drama, action, romance…and, for the first time in quite a while, a silent film. Check out the list of nominees below, and start your deliberations on the “Who Should Win” vs. “Who Will Win” battle—that’s the bread-and-butter of awards season, after all.
27th ANNUAL INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS NOMINEES
The Artist
Beginners
The Descendants
Drive
Take Shelter
BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Mike Cahill, Another Earth
Patrick Wang, In the Family
J.C Chandor, Margin Call
Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Robert Pickering, Natural Selection
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Lauren Ambrose (Think of Me)
Rachael Harris (Natural Selection)
Adepero Oduye (Pariah)
Elizabeth Olson (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
BEST MALE LEAD
Demian 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 Departed)
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 SCREENPLAY
The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius)
Beginners (Mike Mills)
The Descendants (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash)
Footnote (Joseph Cedar)
Win Win (Tom McCarthy)
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Mike Cahill & Brit Marling, Another Earth
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Patrick deWitt, Terri
Phil Johnston, Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser, 50/50
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
