They're the most important wards in independent cinema and can have a big impact on which films secure distribution, thus determining which films you get to see at the box office. This year's Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced today in Los Angeles. Precious and The Last Station look likely to be the big success stories, with five nominations apiece.
Also nominated in the Best Picture category are 500 Days of Summer, Amreeka and Sin Nombre, whilst box office smash Paranormal Activity has earned a Best First Feature nomination and Anivel! The Story Of Anvil is in the running for Best Documentary. Helen Mirren, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Colin Firth are all up for best acting awards. The Coen brothers have been jointly nominated for Best Director for A Serious Man, which you can catch in British cinemas right now. The winners will be announced on March 5. The nominees are as follows
Best Feature
(500) Days of Summer
Amreeka
Precious
Sin Nombre
The Last Station
Best Director
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen - A Serious Man
Lee Daniels - Precious
Cary Joji Fukunaga - Sin Nombre
James Gray - Two Lovers
Michael Hoffman - The Last Station
Best Screenplay
Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman - The Messenger
Michael Hoffman - The Last Station
Lee Toland Krieger - The Vicious Kind
Greg Mottola - Adventureland
Scott Neustadter, Michael H Weber - (500) Days of Summer
Best First Feature
A Single Man
Crazy Heart
Easier With Practice
Paranormal Activity
The Messenger
Best First Screenplay
Sophie Barthes - Cold Souls
Scott Cooper - Crazy Heart
Cherien Dabis - Amreeka
Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious
Tom Ford, David Scearce - A Single Man
John Cassavetes Award:
Big Fan
Humpday
The New Year Parade
Treeless Mountain
Zero Bridge
Best Female Lead:
Maria Bello - Downloading Nancy
Nisreen Faour - Amreeka
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Gwyneth Paltrow - Two Lovers
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious
Best Male Lead:
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) Days of Summer
Souleymane Sy Savane - Goodbye Solo
Adam Scott - The Vicious Kind
Best Supporting Female
Dina Korzun - Cold Souls
Mo'Nique - Precious
Samantha Morton - The Messenger
Natalie Press - Fifty Dead Men Walking
Mia Wasikowska - That Evening Sun
Best Supporting Male
Jemaine Clement - Gentlemen Broncos
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Christian McKay - Me And Orson Welles
Raymond McKinnon - That Evening Sun
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins - A Serious Man
Adriano Goldman - Sin Nombre
Anne Misawa - Treeless Mountain
Andrij Parekh - Cold Souls
Peter Zeitlinger - Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans
Best Cocumentary:
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Food, Inc.
More Than A Game
October Country
Which Way Home
Best foreign film:
A Prophet
An Education
Everlasting Moments
Mother
The Maid
Acura Someone to Watch Award
Kyle Patrick Alvarez - Easier With Practice
Asiel Norton - Redland
Tariq Tapa - Zero Bridge
Truer Than Fiction Award:
Natalia Almada - El General
Jessica Oreck - Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
Bill Ross, Turner Ross - 45365
Piaget Producers Award:
Karin Chien - The Exploding Girl,
Santa Mesa
Larry Fessenden - I Sell The Dead, The House Of The Devil
Dia Sokol - Beeswax, Nights & Weekends
