With this morning’s exciting announcement by Rosario Dawson and Diego Luna of the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees, we can officially declare our 30th birthday party started. Big congrats to all the nominees, with special kudos to the Best Feature nominees—Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Boyhood, Love is Strange, Selma and Whiplash—as well as to the 12 Film Independent Fellows and 13 Members (see below) up for awards in this super special year. Yes, we’ve been shaking up the awards season since 1985, and yet, we can reasonably conclude we’re still cool because… …John Waters just sent us a birthday greeting. The iconoclastic filmmaker is just one of the indie world greats who have shared their best wishes and Spirit Awards memories via video in honor of the occasion. Laura Dern reminisced over our humble beginnings. (Stay tuned for more from other famed members of our Spirit Awards family.) In his video, Waters admits, “I’d rather die than miss the Film Independent Spirit Awards. It’s my kind of crowd. Insane. Sexually confused. Financially challenged from maxing out their credit cards to get the movie made. Filled with unhinged optimism in the face of the grim realities of show business.” You can take part in the celebration by joining Film Independent: Only Members Vote. The full list of the 2015 Nominees can be found below, but make sure to visit our brand new Spirit Awards website for much, much more. Pamela Miller / Website & Grants Manager BEST FEATURE Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole Boyhood Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland Love is Strange Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy Selma Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey Whiplash Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michael Litvak BEST DIRECTOR Damien Chazelle Whiplash Ava DuVernay Selma Alejandro G. Iñárritu Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Richard Linklater Boyhood David Zellner Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter BEST SCREENPLAY Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski Big Eyes J.C. Chandor A Most Violent Year Dan Gilroy Nightcrawler Jim Jarmusch Only Lovers Left Alive Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias Love is Strange BEST FIRST FEATURE A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Director: Ana Lily Amirpour, Producers: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah Dear White People Director/Producer: Justin Simien, Producers: Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe Nightcrawler Director: Dan Gilroy, Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak Obvious Child Director: Gillian Robespierre, Producer: Elisabeth Holm She’s Lost Control Director/Producer: Anja Marquardt, Producers: Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Desiree Akhavan Appropriate Behavior Sara Colangelo Little Accidents Justin Lader The One I Love Anja Marquardt She’s Lost Control Justin Simien Dear White People JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (best feature made for under $500,000) Blue Ruin Writer/Director: Jeremy Saulnier,Producers: Richard Peete, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani It Felt Like Love, Writer/Director/Producer: Eliza Hittman, Producers: Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner Land Ho! Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens,Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy Man From Reno Writer/Director: Dave BoyleWriters: Joel Clark, Michael Lerman, Producer: Ko Mori Test Writer/Director/Producer: Chris Mason Johnson, Producer: Chris Martin BEST FEMALE LEAD Marion Cotillard The Immigrant Rinko Kikuchi Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter Julianne Moore Still Alice Jenny Slate Obvious Child Tilda Swinton Only Lovers Left Alive BEST MALE LEAD André BenjaminJimi: All Is By My Side Jake Gyllenhaal Nightcrawler Michael Keaton Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) John Lithgow Love is Strange David Oyelowo Selma BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE Patricia Arquette Boyhood Jessica Chastain A Most Violent Year Carmen Ejogo Selma Andrea Suarez Paz Stand Clear of the Closing Doors Emma Stone Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) BEST SUPPORTING MALE Riz AhmedNightcrawler Ethan Hawke Boyhood Alfred Molina Love is Strange Edward Norton Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) J.K. Simmons Whiplash BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Darius Khondji The Immigrant Emmanuel Lubezki Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Sean Porter It Felt Like Love Lyle Vincent A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Bradford Young Selma BEST EDITING Sandra Adair Boyhood Tom Cross Whiplash John Gilroy Nightcrawler Ron Patane A Most Violent Year Adam Wingard The Guest BEST DOCUMENTARY 20,000 Days on Earth Directors: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, Producers: Dan Bowen, James Wilson CITIZENFOUR Director/Producer: Laura Poitras, Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky Stray Dog Director: Debra Granik, Producer: Anne Rosellini The Salt of the Earth Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders, Producer: David Rosier Virunga Director/Producer: Orlando Von Einsiedel, Producer: Joanna Natasegara BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM Force Majeure (Sweden)Director: Ruben Östlund Ida (Poland)Director: Pawel Pawlikowski Leviathan (Russia)Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev Mommy (Canada)Director: Xavier Dolan Norte, the End of History (Philippines)Director: Lav Diaz Under the Skin (United Kingdom)Director: Jonathan Glazer ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD Inherent Vice Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Hong Chau, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Sasha Pieterse, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD Foxcatcher Director/Producer: Bennett Miller Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD Chad Burris Elisabeth Holm Chris Ohlson KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Director: Ana Lily Amirpour H. Directors: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia The Retrieval Director: Chris Eska LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD Approaching the Elephant, Director:Amanda Rose Wilder Evolution of a Criminal Director: Darius Clark Monroe The Kill Team Director: Dan Krauss The Last Season Director: Sara Dosa Film Independent Members Dan Futterman (Screenwriter, Foxcatcher) Dede Gardner (Producer, Selma) Julia Lebedev (Producer, Dear White People) Michel Litvak (Producer, Nightcrawler, Whiplash) Anne Rosellini (Producer, Stray Dog) Chad Burris (Piaget Producers Award) Chris Eska (Director, The Retrieval) Chris Ohlson (Piaget Producers Award) Mollye Asher (Producer, She’s Lost Control) Anish Savjani (Producer. Blue Ruin) Mynette Louie (Producer, Land Ho!) Larry Karaszewski (Screenwriter, Big Eyes) Joel Clark (Screenwriter, Man From Reno) Film Independent Fellows Ana Lily Amirpour, Director, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (Screenwriting Lab, Directing Lab, Fast Track) Justin Begnaud, Producer, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (Producing Lab) Justin Simien Writer/Director/Producer, Dear White People (Project Involve) Effie T. Brown, Producer, Dear White People (Project Involve) Ann Le, Producer, Dear White People (Project Involve) Mollye Asher, Producer, She’s Lost Control (Fast Track, Producing Lab) Anish Savjani, Producer, Blue Ruin (Grant Recipient) Shrihari Sathe, Producer, It Felt Like Love (Producing Lab, Fast Track) Mynette Louie, Producer, Land Ho! (Grant Recipient, Fast Track) Dave Boyle, Writer/Director, Man From Reno (Grant Recipient) Chris Mason Johnson, Writer/Director/Producer, Test (Screenwriting Lab) Chad Burris, Piaget Producers Award (Grant Recipient)
