12 Years a Slave & Nebraska Lead 2014 Indie Spirit Noms; Ain’t Them Bodies Saints & Mother of George Snubbed

Team Fox Searchlight should be returning to the winner’s circle at the next edition of the Indie Spirits awards. After winning with Black Swan three years back, and losing out in the Best Feature category with Beasts of the Southern Wild and The Descendants, Fox Searchlight’s 12 Years a Slave leads all other films with seven nominations Best Feature, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography and three of the four acting categories. Alexander Payne’s Nebraska follows with six noms. Both Sundance (Fruitvale Station) and SXSW (Short Term 12) winners figure among the noms, but they weren’t as plentiful with only three noms a piece. Among our favorite titles for 2013 which were left off the scorecard, David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Andrew Dosunmu’s Mother of George Saints got no recognition, while Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love would have got my vote for the Annual Someone To Watch Award. Awards will be handed out on March 1st – below you’ll find the noms, our commentary and snubbed listings are coming shortly.

Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
All Is Lost
Francis 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
Commentary:
Snubbed: David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints), Andrew Dosunmu (Mother of George), Destin Cretton (Short Term 12).

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
Commentary:
Snubbed:

Best First Feature
Blue Caprice – Director/Producer: Alexandre Moors
Concussion – Director: Stacie Passon
Fruitvale Station – Director: Ryan Coogler
Una Noche – Director/Producer: Lucy Mulloy
Wadjda – Director: Haifaa Al Mansour
Commentary:
Snubbed:

Best First Screenplay
Lake Bell – In A World
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Don Jon
Bob Nelson – Nebraska
Jill Soloway – Afternoon Delight
Michael Starrbury – The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete
Commentary:
Snubbed:

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
Commentary:
Snubbed: It Felt Like Love

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
Commentary:
Snubbed:

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
Commentary:
Snubbed:

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
Commentary: Mother of George
Snubbed:

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
Commentary:
Snubbed:

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
Commentary:
Snubbed:

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
Commentary:
Snubbed:

Best Documentary
20 Feet From Stardom – Director/Producer: Morgan Neville
After Tiller – Directors/Producers: Martha Shane & Lana Wilson
Gideon’s Army – Director/Producer: Dawn Porter
The Act of Killing – Director/Producer: Joshua Oppenheimer
The Square – Director: Jehane Noujaim
Commentary:
Snubbed:

Best International Film
A Touch of Sin – Director: Jia Zhang-Ke
Blue is the Warmest Color – Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Gloria – Director: Sebastián Lelio
The Great Beauty – Director: Paolo Sorrentino
The Hunt – Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Commentary:
Snubbed:

17th Annual Piaget Producers Award
Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnston
Jacob Jaffke
Andrea Roa
Frederick Thornton
Commentary:
Snubbed:

20th Annual Someone To Watch Award
My Sister’s Quinceañera – Director: Aaron Douglas Johnston
Newlyweeds – Director: Shaka King;
The Foxy Merkins – Director: Madeline Olnek
Commentary:
Snubbed:

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
Commentary:
Snubbed:

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