‘Jackie,’ ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Manchester by the Sea’ Nominated for Best Film by Spirit Awards
‘Jackie,’ ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Manchester by the Sea’ Nominated for Best Film by Spirit Awards
“Moonlight,” “Manchester by the Sea,” “Jackie,” “American Honey” and “Chronic” were nominated as the best independent features of 2016 by the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will be presented next February 25, the day before the Oscars.
Spirit Awards acting nominees included Annette Bening for “20th Century Women,” Sasha Lane for “American Honey,” Ruth Negga for “Loving,” Casey Affleck for “Manchester by the Sea” and Viggo Mortensen for “Captain Fantastic.”
“La La Land,” the presumed Oscar frontrunner, was not eligible because its budget exceeded $20 million.
Inside How 'Moonlight' Director Barry Jenkins and His Cast Turned Personal Pain Into Art
While Barry Jenkins’ touching “Moonlight” was expected to be one of the leading nominees, the showing by Andrea Arnold’s raucous and divisive “American Honey” came as something of a surprise.
“Manchester by the Sea” received five Spirit Awards nominations, while “Free in Deed,” “Jackie” and “Other People” received four each.
Best director nominees were Arnold for “American Honey,” Jenkins for “Moonlight,” Jeff Nichols for “Loving,” Pablo Larrain for “Jackie” and Kelly Reichardt for “Certain Women.”
Among the surprises were a supporting-actress category that included Edwina Findley for “Free In Deed,” Paulina Garcia for “Little Men,” Lily Gladstone for “Certain Women” and Riley Keough for “American Honey,” but not Michelle Williams for “Manchester by the Sea” or Greta Gerwig for “20th Century Women.”
[...] while Ben Foster received a supporting-male nomination for his role in “Hell or High Water,” his costar Jeff Bridges did not.
In lieu of individual acting nominations, “Moonlight” was also given the Robert Altman Award, which goes to a film’s entire cast, along with its director and casting director.
Films that didn’t receive any nominations included Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson” and Richard Linklater’s “Everybody Wants Some!!,” both of which did well in nominations at the New York-based Gotham Independent Film Awards.
The nominations were announced by Edgar Ramirez and Jenny Slate at the W Hotel in Hollywood.
Spirit Awards nominations are made by a series of nominating committees, which allows committee members to spread the wealth and lends itself to more surprises than most awards shows.
In recent years, the Best Feature category at the Spirit Awards has produced anywhere from four Oscar Best Picture nominees in 2010 and 2014 to a single nominee in 2009 and 2015.
While the Spirit Awards and Academy Awards winners have only matched five times in 31 years, four of those times have come in the last five years, including the last three years in a row with “12 Years a Slave,” “Birdman” and “Spotlight.”
The 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards will take place on Saturday, February 25, 2017 in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, California.
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Award given to the writer, director and producer.
20th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 20th 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.
23rd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 23rd 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.
22nd TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 22nd annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
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