Narrowly saving you from a ghastly Thanksgiving dinner where, rather than debating the year’s best independent films, your family members are forced to talk about themselves, nominations were announced today for the annual Film Independent Spirit Awards. Fittingly (or ironically, depending on how you want to read it) this year’s embodiment of the independent spirit is 12 Years A Slave, which topped the list with a total of seven nominations, including Best Feature. It just narrowly edged out fellow Best Feature nominee Nebraska, with the Alexander Payne drama scoring six total nods—including a Best Supporting nomination for Will Forte, which he can now bring up any time someone tries to dismiss him as "MacGruber."
Others vying for the top prize include Inside Llewyn Davis, Frances Ha, and All Is Lost, while the exclusion of bigger-budget Oscar contenders such as Gravity, The Wolf Of Wall Street, and American Hustle also freed up the ballot to consider some dark horses like Upstream Color’s Shane Carruth, Mud’s Jeff Nichols, and Short Term 12’s Brie Larson. Winners will be announced during the Patton Oswalt-hosted ceremony on March 1, 2014, then immediately overshadowed by the Oscars the very next night.
BEST FEATURE
12 Years A Slave
All Is Lost
Frances Ha
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
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 FEMALE LEAD
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Gaby Hoffman, Crystal Fairy
Brie Larson, Short Term 12
Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now
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 SUPPORTING FEMALE
Melonie Diaz, Fruitvale Station
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Lupita N'Yongo, 12 Years A Slave
Yolanda Ross, Go For Sisters
June Squibb, 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 SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater, Before Midnight
Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Spectacular Now
John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave
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
Jennifer Lame, Frances Ha
Cindy Lee, Una Noche
Nat Sanders, Short Term 12
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
A Touch Of Sin
Blue Is The Warmest Color
Gloria
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Act Of Killing
After Tiller
Gideon's Army
The Square
Twenty Feet From Stardom
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Alexandre Moors, Blue Caprice
Stacie Passon, Concussion
Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station
Lucy Mulloy. Una Noche
Haifaa Al Mansour, Wadjda
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Lake Bell, In A World
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Jon
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Jill Soloway, Afternoon Delight
Michael Starburry. The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister & Pete
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Best ensemble)
Mud
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (for best feature made for under $500,000)
Computer Chess
Crystal Fairy
Museum Hours
Pit Stop
This Is Martin Bonner
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnson
Jacob Jaffke
Andrea Roa
Frederick Thornton
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARDS (emerging director of non-fiction features)
Kalyanee Mam, A River Changes Course
Jason Osder, Let The Fire Burn
Stephanie Spray & Pancho Valez, Manakamana
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARDS
Aaron Douglas Johnston, My Sister’s Quinceañera
Shaka King, Newlyweeds
Madeleine Olnek, The Foxy Merkins