The Scottish director Lynne Ramsay and the English actors Carey Mulligan and Richard E Grant are among the nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards, honouring low-budget American films.
The awards, handed out in Santa Monica the day before the Oscars, are voted for by members of the LA-based Film Independent grass-roots organisation.
Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here is one of the most nominated films, up for awards in four categories, including Best Feature, Best Director and Best Male Lead, for Joaquin Phoenix, whose competition includes Ethan Hawke for Paul Schrader’s First Reformed and John Cho in the internet drama Searching.
Mulligan has one of three nominations for actor Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife. Dano himself is up for Best First Feature, while Mulligan is in the running for the Best Female Lead award, against stars including Glenn Close for The Wife and Toni Collette for Hereditary.
Grant is up for the Best Supporting Male award for Can You Ever Forgive Me? His fellow nominees include Adam Driver for BLACKkKLANSMAN, and his co-star in that film John David Washington for Monsters and Men.
The Independent Spirit Awards specifically honour American films, but it’s increasingly common for British talent to feature in US productions – many of which are funded with money from the UK. American Animals, for example, was a Film 4 production and it’s up for 11 British Independent Film Awards, but it’s got a Best Editing nod at the Spirits, which claim it for the US. And one of the Awards Season favourites – The Favourite – a British film with an international cast and crew, features here only in the Best International Film category, alongside the Cannes Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters and Roma, which won the Golden Lion at Venice.
Other contenders in the main categories at the Spirits include Moonlight director Barry Jenkins’ latest, If Beale Street Could Talk and Leave No Trace, from Debra Granik, who’s also up for the relatively new Bonnie Award, in its second year, honouring what are described as “mid-career female directors.”
Here is the full list of Spirit Award nominees:
BEST FEATURE
Eighth Grade
First Reformed
If Beale Street Could Talk
Leave No Trace
You Were Never Really Here
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Hereditary
Sorry to Bother You
The Tale
We the Animals
Wildlife
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.
A Bread Factory
En el Séptimo Día
Never Goin’ Back
Sócrates
Thunder Road
BEST DIRECTOR
Debra Granik – Leave No Trace
Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk
Tamara Jenkins – Private Life
Lynne Ramsay – You Were Never Really Here
Paul Schrader – First Reformed
BEST SCREENPLAY
Colette – Richard Glatzer (Writer/Story By), Rebecca Lenkiewicz & Wash Westmoreland
Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
Private Life – Tamara Jenkins
Sorry to Bother You – Boots Riley
First Reformed – Paul Schrader
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Eighth Grade – Bo Burnham
Nancy – Christina Choe
Thoroughbreds – Cory Finley
The Tale – Jennifer Fox
Blame – Quinn Shephard (Writer/Story By), Laurie Shephard (Story By)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ashley Connor – Madeline’s Madeline
Diego Garcia – Wildlife
Benjamin Loeb – Mandy
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Suspiria
Zak Mulligan – We the Animals
BEST EDITING
Joe Bini – You Were Never Really Here
Keiko Deguchi, Brian A. Kates, Jeremiah Zagar – We the Animals
Luke Dunkley, Nick Fenton, Chris Gill, Julian Hart – American Animals
Anne Fabini, Alex Hall, Gary Levy – The Tale
Nick Houy – Mid90s
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Glenn Close – The Wife
Toni Collette – Hereditary
Elsie Fisher – Eighth Grade
Regina Hall – Support the Girls
Helena Howard – Madeline’s Madeline
Carey Mulligan – Wildlife
BEST MALE LEAD
John Cho – Searching
Daveed Diggs – Blindspotting
Ethan Hawke – First Reformed
Christian Malheiros – Sócrates
Joaquin Phoenix – You Were Never Really Here
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Kayli Carter – Private Life
Tyne Daly – A Bread Factory
Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie – Leave No Trace
J Smith-Cameron – Nancy
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Raúl Castillo – We the Animals
Adam Driver – BLACKkKLANSMAN
Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Josh Hamilton – Eighth Grade
John David Washington – Monsters and Men
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
Suspiria
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Casting Directors: Avy Kaufman, Stella Savino
Ensemble Cast: Malgosia Bela, Ingrid Caven, Lutz Ebersdorf, Elena Fokina, Mia Goth, Jessica Harper, Dakota Johnson, Gala Moody, Chloë Grace Moretz, Renée Soutendijk, Tilda Swinton, Sylvie Testud, Angela Winkler
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
On Her Shoulders
Shirkers
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Burning – South Korea, Director: Lee Chang-Dong
The Favourite – United Kingdom, Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Happy as Lazzaro – Italy, Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Roma – Mexico, Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Shoplifters – Japan, Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu
BONNIE AWARD – Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the second Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.
Debra Granik
Tamara Jenkins
Karyn Kusama
PRODUCERS AWARD – The 22nd annual Producers Award 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.
Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams
Gabrielle Nadig
Shrihari Sathe
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 25th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Alex Moratto – Director of Sócrates
Ioana Uricaru – Director of Lemonade
Jeremiah Zagar – Director of We the Animals
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 24th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Alexandria Bombach – Director of On Her Shoulders
Bing Liu – Director of Minding the Gap
RaMell Ross – Director of Hale County This Morning, This Evening