Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Led By ‘12 Years A Slave’

The best award set of the season is usually the Independent Spirit Awards — that’s the ceremony where filmmakers cut loose, and it’s the set of awards that is most likely to highlight actual achievement, rather than doling out statues to whoever campaigned the hardest for their Oscar.

Today the nominations of for the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards were announced, and they spread recognition out to a wide array of films. 12 Years a Slave scored the most nominations, but this year’s crop of films is diverse and excellent; if you spent the rest of 2013 catching up with everything you’ve yet to see on this list, it would be a great end-of-year movie run.

The Nominees for the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards:

BEST FEATURE

(Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not awarded)

12 Years a Slave(Producers Dede Gardner, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad)All Is Lost(Producers: Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb)Frances Ha(Producers: Noah Baumbach, Scott Rudin, Rodrigo Teixeira, Lila Yacoub)Inside Llewyn Davis(Producers: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin)Nebraska(Producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa)

BEST DIRECTOR

Shane Carruth,Upstream ColorJ.C. Chandor,All Is LostSteve McQueen,12 Years a SlaveJeff Nichols,MudAlexander Payne,Nebraska

BEST SCREENPLAY

Woody Allen,Blue JasmineJulie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater,Before MidnightNicole Holofcener,Enough SaidScott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber,The Spectacular NowJohn Ridley,12 Years a Slave

BEST FIRST FEATURE

(Award given to the director and producer)

Blue Caprice(Director/Producer: Alexandre Moors; Producers: Kim Jackson, Brian O’Carroll, Isen Robbins, Will Rowbotham, Ron Simons, Aimee Schoof, Stephen Tedeschi)Concussion(Director: Stacie Passon; Producer: Rose Troche)Fruitvale Station(Director: Ryan Coogler; Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker)Una Noche(Director/Producer: Lucy Mulloy;  Producers: Sandy Pérez Aguila, Maite Artieda, Daniel Mulloy, Yunior Santiago)Wadjda(Director: Haifaa Al Mansour; Producers: Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Lake Bell,In A WorldJoseph Gordon-Levitt,Don JonBob Nelson,NebraskaJill Soloway,Afternoon DelightMichael Starrbury,The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete

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.

Computer Chess(Writer/Director: Andrew Bujalski; Producers: Houston King & Alex Lipschultz)Crystal Fairy(Writer/Director: Sebastiàn Silva; Producers: Juan de Dios Larraín & Pablo Larraín)Museum Hours(Writer/Director: Jem Cohen; Producers: Paolo Calamita & Gabriele Kranzelbinder)Pit Stop(Writer/Director: Yen Tan; Writer: David Lowery; Producers: Jonathan Duffy, James M. Johnston, Eric Steele, Kelly Williams)This is Martin Bonner(Writer/Director: Chad Hartigan; Producer: Cherie Saulter)

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Cate Blanchett, Blue JasmineJulie Delpy, Before MidnightGaby Hoffmann, Crystal FairyBrie Larson, Short Term 12Shailene Woodley,The Spectacular Now

BEST MALE LEAD

Bruce Dern,NebraskaChiwetel Ejiofor,12 Years a SlaveOscar Isaac,Inside Llewyn DavisMichael B. Jordan,Fruitvale StationMatthew McConaughey,Dallas Buyers ClubRobert Redford,All Is Lost

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Melonie Diaz,Fruitvale StationSally Hawkins,Blue JasmineLupita Nyong’o,12 Years a SlaveYolonda Ross,Go For SistersJune Squibb,Nebraska

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Michael Fassbender,12 Years a SlaveWill Forte,NebraskaJames Gandolfini,Enough SaidJared Leto,Dallas Buyers ClubKeith Stanfield,Short Term 12

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Sean Bobbitt,12 Years a SlaveBenoit Debie,Spring BreakersBruno Delbonnel,Inside Llewyn DavisFrank G. DeMarco,All Is LostMatthias Grunsky,Computer Chess

BEST EDITING

Shane Carruth & David Lowery,Upstream ColorJem Cohen & Marc Vives,Museum HoursJennifer Lame,Frances HaCindy Lee,Una NocheNat Sanders,Short Term 12

BEST DOCUMENTARY

20 Feet From Stardom

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Morgan Neville

PRODUCERS: Gil Friesen & Caitrin Rogers

After Tiller

DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: Martha Shane & Lana Wilson

Gideon’s Army

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Dawn Porter

PRODUCER: Julie Goldman

The Act of Killing

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Joshua Oppenheimer

PRODUCERS: Joram Ten Brink, Christine Cynn, Anne Köhncke, Signe Byrge Sørensen,

Michael Uwemedimo

The Square

DIRECTOR: Jehane Noujaim

PRODUCER: Karim Amer

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

(Award given to the director)

A Touch of Sin(China; Director: Jia Zhang-Ke)Blue is the Warmest Color(France; Director: Abdellatif Kechiche)Gloria(Chile; Director: Sebastián Lelio)The Great Beauty(Italy; Director: Paolo Sorrentino)The Hunt(Denmark; Director: Thomas Vinterberg)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)

Director: Jeff Nichols

Casting Director: Francine Maisler

Ensemble Cast:  Joe Don Baker, Jacob Lofland, Matthew McConaughey, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon, Sam Shepard, Tye Sheridan, Paul Sparks, Bonnie Sturdivant, Reese Witherspoon

17th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD

Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnston

Jacob Jaffke

Andrea Roa

Frederick Thornton

20th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

(The 20th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.)

Aaron Douglas Johnston,My Sister’s QuinceañeraShaka King,NewlyweedsMadeline Olnek,The Foxy Merkins

19th ANNUAL STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

Kalyanee Mam,A River Changes CourseJason Osder,Let the Fire BurnStephanie Spray & Pacho Velez,Manakamana