The film award season has gotten under way this morning with the announcement of the 22nd Annual Spirit Awards. Presented by the non-profit group Film Independent, their members vote on the winners. Those wishing to add their voice to the outcome can join the group by December 1. The awards will be handed out on February 23, 2008 under a large tent on the beach in Santa Monica Beach. It will be telecast on IFC at 5:00 p.m. EST and an edited rebroadcast will air on AMC at 10:00 p.m.
The Best Feature nominees are Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who endures such a massive stroke his left eye is the only thing not paralyzed; Todd Haynes’ I'm Not There, a pseudo-biography of a few of the personae of Bob Dylan; Juno, a black comedy about teen pregnancy; A Mighty Heart, the true story of Mariane Pearl, whose husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl, was killed by terrorists in 2002; and Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park, a drama about a Portland skateboarder and his involvement in a security guard’s death.
Out of the five films, A Mighty Heart is the only Best Feature nominee which didn’t have its director, Michael Winterbottom, nominated for Best Director. The Savages’ Tamara Jenkins took that spot.
The nominees are:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik
I'm Not There
Producers: Christine Vachon, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, James D. Stern
Juno
Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
A Mighty Heart
Producers: Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton, Brad Pitt
Paranoid Park
Producers: Neil Kopp, David Cress
BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes
I'm Not There
Tamara Jenkins
The Savages
Jason Reitman
Juno
Julian Schnabel
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Gus Van Sant
Paranoid Park
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
2 Days in Paris
Director: Julie Delpy
Producers: Julie Delpy, Christophe Mazodier, Thierry Potok
Great World of Sound
Director: Craig Zobel
Producers: Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel
The Lookout
Director: Scott Frank
Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes
Rocket Science
Director: Jeffrey Blitz
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch
Vanaja
Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli
Producer: Latha R. Domalapalli
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
August Evening
Writer/Directpr: Chris Eska
Producers: Connie Hill, Jason Wehling
Owl and the Sparrow
Writer/Director: Stephane Gauger
Producers: Nguyen Van Quan, Doan Nhat Nam, Stephane Gauger
The Pool
Director: Chris Smith
Producer: Kate Noble
Writer: Chris Smith & Randy Russell
Quiet City
Director: Aaron Katz
Producers: Brendan McFadden, Ben Stambler
Writers: Aaron Katz, Erin Fisher, Cris Lankenau
Shotgun Stories
Writer/Director: Jeff Nichols
Producers: David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Jeff Nichols
BEST SCREENPLAY
Ronald Harwood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Tamara Jenkins
The Savages
Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner
Starting Out in the Evening
Adrienne Shelly
Waitress
Mike White
Year of the Dog
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Jeffrey Blitz
Rocket Science
Zoe Cassavetes
Broken English
Diablo Cody
Juno
Kelly Masterson
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
John Orloff
A Mighty Heart
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Angelina Jolie
A Mighty Heart
Sienna Miller
Interview
Ellen Page
Juno
Parker Posey
Broken English
Tang Wei
Lust, Caution
BEST MALE LEAD
Pedro Castaneda
August Evening
Don Cheadle
Talk To Me
Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Savages
Frank Langella
Starting Out in the Evening
Tony Leung
Lust, Caution
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Cate Blanchett
I'm Not There
Anna Kendrick
Rocket Science
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Margot at the Wedding
Tamara Podemski
Four Sheets to the Wind
Marisa Tomei
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Talk To Me
Marcus Carl Franklin
I'm Not There
Kene Holliday
Great World of Sound
Irrfan Khan
The Namesake
Steve Zahn
Rescue Dawn
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mott Hupfel
The Savages
Janusz Kaminski
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Milton Kam
Vanaja
Mihai Malaimare, Jr.
Youth Without Youth
Rodrigo Prieto
Lust, Caution
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
Crazy Love
Director: Dan Klores
Lake of Fire
Director: Tony Kaye
Manufactured Landscapes
Director: Jennifer Baichwal
The Monastery
Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær
The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
Directors: Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker
BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Director: Cristian Mungiu
(Romania)
The Band's Visit
Director: Eran Kolirin
(Israel)
Lady Chatterley
Director: Pascale Ferran
(France)
Once
Director: John Carney
(Ireland)
Persepolis
Directors: Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi
(France)
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film's director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
I'm Not There
Director: Todd Haynes
Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal
Ensemble Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood
FILMMAKER GRANT NOMINEES
IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award
The 14th annual IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
Ramin Bahrani, director of Chop Shop
Ronnie Bronstein, director of Frownland
Lee Isaac Chung, director of Munyurangabo
IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award Nominating Committee:
Scott Foundas (Chair), Effie T. Brown, Lisa Kennedy, Bryan Poyser, Maud Nadler
Truer Than Fiction Award
The 12th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention.
Laura Dunn for The Unforeseen
Gary Hustwit for Helvetica
John Maringouin for Running Stumbled
Truer Than Fiction Award Nominating Committee:
John Vanco (Chair), Cara Mertes, A.J. Schnack, Dennis Lim, Laura Poitras
Producers Award
The 11th annual Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films.
Anne Clements, producer of Ping Pong Playa and Quinceañera
Alexis Ferris, producer of Cthulhu and Police Beat
Neil Kopp, producer of Paranoid Park and Old Joy
Producers Award Nominating Committee:
Scott Macaulay (Chair), Gina Kwon, Anne Walker-McBay, Lianne Halfon, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte