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The Independent Spirit Awards 2016 – Nominees

Do you smell it? That scent in the air? It’s the scent of heart wrenching performances, jaw dropping cinematography and score to make your ears thankful…It’s awards season, my friends, and the latest set of nominees out is The Independent Spirit Awards. So, who’s up for the prizes this year?

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Best Female Lead has a wonderful line up, with Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Annette Benning (20th Century Women), Isabelle Huppert (Elle), and Sasha Lane (American Honey) competing for the prize. The smart money would go on Natalie Portman, but these awards aren’t quite as predictable as others, so it could be anyone’s game. My money’s going on Ruth Negga, for her portrayal of a woman unable to be with her husband due to discrimination. Best Supporting Female sees Lily Gladstone (20th Century Women), Riley Keough (American Honey), Molly Shannon (Other People), Edwinda Findley (Free In Deed) and Paulina Garcia (Little Men) in contention.

In Best Male Lead, we have Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), David Harewood (Free In Deed), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), Jesse Plemons (Other People) and Tim Roth (Chronic), and it’s another tough category to call. Best Supporting Male has two of the most absolutely astonishing performances of the year, Ralph Fiennes (A Bigger Splash) and Ben Foster (Hell or Highwater), as well as Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea), Shia Leboeuf (American Honey) and Craig Robinson (Morris From America). Hopefully, Fiennes will run away with this award, as it’s not likely he’ll got nominated in many other shows.

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In terms of writing, we have Moonlight, Manchester By The Sea, Hell or Highwater, 20th Century Women, and Little Men up for Best Screenplay, whilst The Witch, Other People, Jean of the Joneses, Barry, and Christine battle it out for Best First Screenplay. Speaking of firsts, the Best First Feature category sees The Childhood of a Leader, Swiss Army Man, The Witch, The Fits and Other People in contention. Best Cinematography is a race between Free in Deed, The Childhood of a Leader, The Eyes of My Mother, American Honey, and Moonlight, while Best Documentary contains 13th, Cameraperson, OJ: Made in America, Sonita, Under the Sun, and I Am Not Your Negro.

The nominees for the John Cassavettes Award, which is for feature films made with a budget under $500,000, are Free in Deed, Huntergatherer, Lovesong, Nakom, and Spa Night, and the biggest award, Best Feature, will be a race between Manchester By the Sea, Jackie, Chronic, Moonlight, and American Honey, with directors Andrea Arnold, Barry Jenkins and Pablo Larrain nominated too.

Those are just the highlights, but there’s plenty of other awards too, waiting to be handed out to fresh talent in this industry we so love. We in the UK haven’t had a chance to see many of these films yet, we but have it on good authority that they are utterly outstanding. Whoever wins, it’ll always be a satisfying victory. You can catch The Independent Spirit Awards on the 25th Februrary.

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BEST FEATURE:
American Honey
Chronic
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
MoonlightBEST DIRECTOR:
Andrea Arnold – American Honey
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Pablo Larrain – Jackie
Jeff Nichols – Loving
Kelly Reichardt – Certain Women

BEST SCREENPLAY:
Moonlight
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women
Little Men
Hell or High Water

BEST FIRST FEATURE:
The Childhood of a Leader
The Fits
Other People
Swiss Army Man
The Witch

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY:
The Witch
Other People
Barry
Jean of the Joneses
Christine

BEST MALE LEAD:
Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
David Harewood – Free in Deed
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Jesse Plemons – Other People
Tim Roth – Chronic

BEST FEMALE LEAD:
Annette Bening – 20th Century Woman
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Sasha Lane – American Honey
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie

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BEST SUPPORTING MALE:
Ralph Fiennes – A Bigger Splash
Ben Foster – Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Shia LaBeouf – American Honey
Craig Robinson – Morris from America

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE:
Edwina Findley – Free in Deed
Paulina García – Little Men
Lily Gladstone – Certain Women
Riley Keough – American Honey
Molly Shannon – Other People

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Free in Deed
The Childhood of a Leader
The Eyes of My Mother
Moonlight
American Honey

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM:
Aquarius
Chevalier
My Golden Days (Trois Souvenirs De Ma Jeunesse)
Toni Erdmann

BEST DOCUMENTARY:
13th
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America
Sonita
Under The Sun

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BEST EDITING:
Swiss Army Man
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Hell or High Water
Jackie

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (BEST FEATURE UNDER $500,000):
Free in Deed
Hunter Gatherer
Lovesong
Nakom
Spa Night

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (BEST ENSEMBLE):
Moonlight

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD:
Kristi Jacobson – Solitary
Sara Jordeno – Kiki
Nanfu Wang – Hooligan Sparrow

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD:
Andrew Ahn – Spa Night
Claire Carré – Embers
Anna Rose Holmer – The Fits
Ingrid Jungermann

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD:
Lisa Kjerulff
Jordana Mollick
Melody C. Roscher
Craig Shilowich

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