12 Years a Slave Leads Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

12 Years a Slave
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”

Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” is in the lead with seven nominations for the Film Independent Spirit Awards, including for best feature. Alexander Payne’s moody drama “Nebraska” followed with six nominations.

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Film Independent at LACMA Film Series, announced nominations for the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards yesterday.

Film Independent President Josh Welsh presided over the press conference held at the W Hollywood, with actresses Octavia Spencer and Paula Patton presenting the nominations. In addition to “12 Years a Slave” and “Nebraska,” other nominees for Best Feature included “All Is Lost,” “Frances Ha” and “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor of “12 Years a Slave” | Brad Balfour Photo

“Mud” was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

In its commitment to recognizing the importance of below the line contributions to the art of filmmaking, Film Independent has now introduced, for the first year, the Best Editing category in the Spirit Awards.

“The nominations this year are from such an amazing pool of talented film artists,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent, in a press release. “Their work demonstrates the deep originality and uniqueness of vision that are at the heart of independent film. At Film Independent, we work all year round to promote that spirit, and the nominees celebrated here today are tremendous ambassadors for their crafts, both in front of and behind the camera.”

Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, March 1, 2014. The awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, with the premiere broadcast airing later that evening at 10:00 pm ET/PT exclusively on IFC.

Winners of the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants will be highlighted during the awards ceremony and announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominee Brunch on Saturday, January 11, 2014, at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.

The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees selected nominees from 325 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 & 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, festival programmers and other working film professionals.

As the first event to exclusively honor independent film, the Film Independent Spirit Awards has made a name for itself as the premier awards show for the independent film community. Artists who have received industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Joel & 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 Spirit Awards, the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, are sponsored by Premier Sponsors Piaget, the Lincoln Motor Company and IFC and by Principal Sponsor Stella Artois. WireImage is the Official Photographer and PR Newswire is the Official Breaking News Service of Film Independent.

For more information on submission guidelines, voting, media and publicist credentials, and the history of the Spirit Awards, please visit spiritawards.com.

2014 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

BEST FEATURE
12 Years A Slave
All Is Lost
Frances Ha
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

BEST DIRECTOR
Shane Carruth, Upstream Color
J.C. Chandor, All Is Lost
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
Jeff Nichols, Mud
Alexander Payne, Nebraska

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Gaby Hoffmann, Crystal Fairy
Brie Larson, Short Term 12
Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now

BEST MALE LEAD
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Michael B Jordan, Fruitvale Station
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All Is Lost

BEST SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater, Before Midnight
Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, The Spectacular Now
John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Melonie Diaz, Fruitvale Station
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Yolonda Ross, Go For Sisters
June Squibb, Nebraska

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Will Forte, Nebraska
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Keith Stanfield, Short Term 12

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Lake Bell, In A World
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Jon
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Jill Soloway, Afternoon Delight
Mike Starrbury, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sean Bobbitt, 12 Years A Slave
Benoit Debie, Spring Breakers
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
Frank G. Demarco, All Is Lost
Matthias Grunsky, Computer Chess

BEST EDITING
Shane Carruth & David Lowery, Upstream Color
Jem Cohen & Marc Vives, Museum Hours
Frank G. Demarco, All Is Lost
Matthias Grunsky, Computer Chess
Nat 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 INT’L FILM
A Touch of Sin (China)
Blue is the Warmest Color (France)
Gloria (Chile)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)

BEST FIRST FEATURE
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

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (best feature made for under $500,000)
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

17th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD 
Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnston, Jacob Jaffke, Andrea Roa, Frederick Thornton

20th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD 
My Sister’s Quinceañera, Director: Aaron Douglas Johnston
Newlyweeds, Director: Shaka King
The Foxy Merkins, Director: Madeline Olnek

19th ANNUAL STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD 
Kalyanee Mam, A River Changes Course
Jason Osder, Let the Fire Burn
Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez, Manakamana

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Mud, 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

The Numbers Per Distributor:

  • Fox Searchlight Pictures: 9
  • IFC Films: 8
  • Sony Pictures Classics: 6
  • Paramount Pictures: 6
  • Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate: 4
  • Roadside Attractions: 4
  • The Weinstein Company: 3
  • Radius-TWC: 2
  • A24: 3
  • CBS: 3
  • Cinedigm: 3
  • The Cinema Guild: 3
  • The Cinema Guild
  • Kino Lorber: 3
  • Focus Features: 2
  • Drafthouse Films: 1
  • HBO Films: 1
  • Janus Films: 1
  • Lionsgate: 1
  • Magnolia Pictures: 1
  • Monterey Media, Inc.: 1
  • Netflix: 1
  • Oscilloscope Pictures: 1
  • Phase 4 Films: 1
  • Relativity Media: 1
  • The Film Arcade / Cinedigm: 1
  • Variance Films: 1
  • Wolfe Releasing: 1
  • Zeitgeist Films: 1
  • No Distributor: 5

Comments

6 responses to “12 Years a Slave Leads Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations”

  1. 12 Years a Slave Leads Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations http://t.co/Y39EQvBxEI

  2. RT @IndieFilmNews: 12 Years a Slave Leads Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations http://t.co/Imx3Lp6TA6

  3. […] are surprises. Delpy told me only last week at the Gotham Awards that she was so happy about her Independent Spirit best actress nomination because she never gets recognized for her acting. Imagine how happy and […]

  4. […] by Morgan Neville, “20 Feet From Stardom” has also been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best […]

  5. Sahaphap Avatar

    So happy with the nominations this year and for 12 Years A Slave. Great movie. I do think that The Butler was snubbed though. I personally thought it was a great film and Oprah’s performance was outstanding.

    1. Jane Boursaw Avatar

      Same here re The Butler. It just hasn’t gotten any awards traction this year and I’m not sure why.

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