Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the LA Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA, announced nominations for the 2016 Spirit Awards on November 24, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Film Independent President Josh Welsh presided over the press conference held at W Hollywood, with actors John Boyega and Elizabeth Olsen presenting the nominations. Nominees for Best Feature included Anomalisa, Beasts of No Nation, Carol, Spotlight and Tangerine. By the time all the nominees had been announced, the big winner of the morning proved to be Carol, picking up six nominations, including two for Best Lead Female which pits last year’s winner, Cate Blanchett, against her Carol co-star Rooney Mara.
“This year’s nominees are a testament to the strength, vitality and diversity of independent, artist-driven filmmaking,” said Film Independent President Josh Welsh. “It’s an astonishingly strong group of films and performances this year and we look forward to celebrating them all at the Spirit Awards.”
SPOTLIGHT was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts. “SPOTLIGHT is a remarkable film that excels on every level, but the Nominating Committee thought it was especially deserving of the Robert Altman Award,” said Welsh. “The film is beautifully cast with every member of the ensemble working together to tell the story of the Boston Globe investigating allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church.”
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.
Winners of the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants will be highlighted during the awards ceremony and announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants and Nominee Brunch on Saturday, January 9, 2016, at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.
The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees selected nominees from 362 submissions this year and applied the following guidelines in determining the nominations: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter, economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost and individual compensation) and percentage of financing from independent sources. The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees are comprised of writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors, critics, casting directors, film festival programmers and other working film professionals.
In addition to celebrating the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking, the Spirit Awards is also the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity in the industry. To learn more about table sales, attendance and donations please contact jmurby@filmindependent.org or 310.432.1253.
2016 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS
BEST FEATURE
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
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 (Best feature made for under $500,000)
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
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
Spotlight
Director: Tom McCarthy
Casting Directors: Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee
Ensemble Cast: 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
(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
Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn
Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith
22nd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
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
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
