Independent Spirit Film Awards Nominations

Six nominations for Birdman and five each for Boyhood, Nightcrawler and Selma as the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards are announced. Winners will be announced on Feb. 21, 2015, the day before Oscar night.

 

BEST FEATURE

Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.

• Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• Boyhood
• Love is Strange
• Selma
• Whiplash

 

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
• CITIZENFOUR
• Stray Dog
• The Salt of the Earth
• Virunga

 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Award given to the director

• Force Majeure (Sweden)
• Ida (Poland)
• Leviathan (Russia)
• Mommy (Canada)
• Norte, the End of History (Philippines)
• Under the Skin (United Kingdom)

 

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