2016 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations - Complete List

Film Independent’s Spirit Awards (formerly known as the Independent Spirit Awards) were founded in 1984 and are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers.  Film Independent is the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and also the Los Angeles Film Festival.

The 2016 / 31st Film Independent Spirit Award winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 27, 2016.  The awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, in a new location this year just north of the Santa Monica Pier.  The show will broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 2:00 pm PT/ 5:00 pm ET.

2016 / 31st FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS:

BEST FEATURE – Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.

Anomalisa
Producers: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman, Dino Stamatopoulos, Rosa Tran

Beasts of No Nation
Producers: Daniel Crown, Idris Elba, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Amy Kaufman, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker

Carol
Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley

Spotlight
Producers: Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar

Tangerine
Producers: Sean Baker, Karrie Cox, Marcus Cox, Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou

BEST FIRST FEATURE - Award given to the director and producer.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Director: Marielle Heller
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit

James White
Director: Josh Mond
Producers: Max Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, Eric Schultz

Manos Sucias
Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka
Producers: Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes

Mediterranea
Director: Jonas Carpignano
Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, Ryan Zacarias

Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Director/Producer: Chloé Zhao
Producers: Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, Forest Whitaker

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.

Advantageous
Writer/Director/Producer: Jennifer Phang
Writer/Producer: Jacqueline Kim
Producers: Robert Chang, Ken Jeong, Moon Molson, Theresa Navarro

Christmas, Again
Writer/Director/Producer: Charles Poekel

Heaven Knows What
Directors: Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie
Writers: Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
Producers: Oscar Boyson, Sebastian Bear McClard

Krisha
Writer/Director/Producer: Trey Edward Shults
Producers: Justin R. Chan, Chase Joliet, Wilson Smith

Out of My Hand
Writer/Director: Takeshi Fukunaga
Writer/Producer: Donari Braxton
Producer: Mike Fox

BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker - Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga - Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes - Carol
Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman - Anomalisa
Tom McCarthy - Spotlight
David Robert Mitchell - It Follows

BEST SCREENPLAY
Charlie Kaufman- Anomalisa
Donald Margulies- The End of the Tour
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer - Spotlight
Phyllis Nagy - Carol
S. Craig Zahler - Bone Tomahawk

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Jesse Andrews - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jonas Carpignano - Mediterranea
Emma Donoghue - Room
Marielle Heller - The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary, Story by Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph - The Mend

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cary Joji Fukunaga - Beasts of No Nation
Michael Gioulakis - It Follows
Ed Lachman - Carol
Reed Morano - Meadowland
Joshua James Richards - Songs My Brothers Taught Me

BEST EDITING        
Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie - Heaven Knows What
Tom McArdle - Spotlight
Nathan Nugent - Room
Julio C. Perez IV - It Follows
Kristan Sprague - Manos Sucias

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Cate Blanchett - Carol
Brie Larson - Room
Rooney Mara - Carol
Bel Powley - The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez - Tangerine

BEST MALE LEAD
Christopher Abbott - James White
Abraham Attah - Beasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn - Mississippi Grind
Jason Segel - The End of the Tour
Koudous Seihon - Mediterranea

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Robin Bartlett - H.
Marin Ireland - Glass Chin
Jennifer Jason Leigh - Anomalisa
Cynthia Nixon - James White
Mya Taylor - Tangerine

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Kevin Corrigan - Results
Paul Dano - Love & Mercy
Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation
Richard Jenkins - Bone Tomahawk
Michael Shannon - 99 Homes

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

Spotlight
Director: Tom McCarthy
Casting Directors:Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee
Ensemble Cast: Michael Cyril Creighton, Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian d’Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

BEST DOCUMENTARY - Award given to the director and producer.

(T)ERROR
Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe
Producer: Christopher St. John

Best of Enemies
Directors/Producers: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville

Heart of a Dog
Director/Producer: Laurie Anderson
Producer: Dan Janvey

The Look of Silence
Director:Joshua Oppenheimer
Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen

Meru
Directors/Producers: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Producer: Shannon Ethridge

The Russian Woodpecker
Director/Producer: Chad Gracia
Producers: Ram Devineni, Mike Lerner

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM - Award given to the director.
Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia)
Director: Ciro Guerra

Girlhood (France)
Director: Céline Sciamma

Mustang (France, Turkey)
Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden)
Director: Roy Andersson

Son of Saul (Hungary)
Director: László Nemes

19th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 19th 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.

Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn
Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith

22nd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 22nd 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.

God Bless the Child
Directors: Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck

King Jack
Director: Felix Thompson

Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Director: Chloé Zhao

21st TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 21st annual Truer Than Fiction Award 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.

Among the Believers
Directors: Mohammed Ali Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi

Incorruptible
Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

A Woman Like Me
Directors: Elizabeth Giamatti and Alex Sichel

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