Indie Spirit Awards Nominations Announced
Source: Film Independent
November 28, 2006
Nominations for the 2007 Film Independent's Spirit Awards were announced this morning, including nominations for Best Feature, which are American Gun, The Dead Girl, Half Nelson, Little Miss Sunshine and Pan's Labyrinth. Also announced were the finalists for the IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award, the Axium Truer Than Fiction Award, the Axium Producers Award, and a Special Distinction Award given to David Lynch and Laura Dern for their collaborative work. Felicity Huffman and Don Cheadle served as nomination presenters. The 2007 Spirit Awards ceremony airs live on Saturday, February 24, beginning at 5:00 p.m. EST on IFC (Independent Film Channel). Live red carpet footage will precede the show starting at 4:30 p.m. EST on WE tv, with an edited re-broadcast of the ceremony airing later that evening on AMC at 10:00 p.m. EST/PST. As previously announced, Sarah Silverman will serve as Master of Ceremonies for a second time. "We are proud to spotlight this year's eclectic mix of filmmakers and artists who are unafraid to take risks," said Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent. "The foundation of independent film has always been to push the envelope both in subject matter and filmmaking, and this year is no exception." Film Independent also announced the first ever Spirit Awards Short Film Contest in partnership with IFC Media Lab. Film Independent and IFC Media Lab invite participants to make a short film - of up to 90 seconds in length - on the theme "What Does Independence Mean to You?" The winning film will air live on IFC during the Spirit Awards broadcast. Filmmakers interested in entering the Spirit Awards Short Film Contest can upload their film from November 28, 2006 - January 19, 2007 to IFC.com/MediaLab. The Spirit Awards Nominating Committee is composed of three subcommittees - American Narrative, Foreign Film, and Documentary Film - which apply the following guidelines in making its selections: 1. Uniqueness of vision 2. Original, provocative subject matter 3. Economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost and individual compensation) 4. Percentage of financing from independent sources Eligible films must be at least 70 minutes long, and the cost of the completed film, including post-production, must be under $20 million. Films must have been shown in a commercial theater for at least one week between January 1 and December 31, 2006 or shown at one of the following festivals in 2006: Los Angeles Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, New York, Sundance, Telluride, or Toronto. After the committees select the nominees, the members of Film Independent, as well as the members of IFP, cast the final votes. Voters attend nominee screenings and view nominated films through Netflix before selecting the winners. Membership in Film Independent is open to anyone passionate about film and begins at $95 per year. Those who join before December 15, 2006 will be eligible to vote to determine the winners for the 2007 Spirit Awards. In an effort to provide greater access to the nominated films for voting members of Film Independent and IFP, Netflix is not only hosting the awards but also providing a limited access, unique sitelet containing all nominated films for the voters. Using a free 3 Month Netflix subscription, Film Independent and IFP members will be able to add nominated films to their Queue and begin receiving DVDs by mail according to the Netflix model. Voting Members will also have access to the entire Netflix catalog of over 65,000 titles. FILMMAKER GRANT NOMINEES IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award The 13th annual IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $50,000 unrestricted grant, funded by IFC and Acura. The Finalists are: So Yong Kim, director of In Between Days Julia Loktev, director of Day Night Day Night Richard Wong, director of Colma: The Musical Axium Truer Than Fiction Award The 11th annual Axium Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention. The award includes a $50,000 unrestricted grant funded by Axium International. The Finalists are: Adele Horn for The Tailenders Eric Daniel Metzgar for The Chances of the World Changing AJ Schnack for Kurt Cobain About A Son Axium Producers Award The 10th annual Axium 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 $50,000 unrestricted grant, funded by Axium International. The Finalists are: Julie Lynn, producer of Nine Lives and 10 Items or Less Alex Orlovsky and Jamie Patricof, producers of Half Nelson and Point & Shoot Howard Gertler and Tim Perell, producers of Shortbus and Pizza 2007 INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS (BY CATEGORY) BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer) NOTE: Executive Producers are not listed. American Gun Producer: Ted Kroeber The Dead Girl Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Henry Winterstern, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, Eric Karten, Kevin Turen Half Nelson Producers: Jamie Patricof, Alex Orlovsky, Lynette Howell, Anna Boden, Rosanne Korenberg Little Miss Sunshine Producers: Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa Pan's Labyrinth Producers: Bertha Navarro, Alfonso Cuaron, Frida Torresblanco, Alvaro Augustin, Guillermo del Toro BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer) Day Night Day Night Director: Julia Loktev Producers: Julia Loktev, Melanie Judd, Jessica Levin Man Push Cart Director: Ramin Bahrani Producers: Ramin Bahrani, Pradip Ghosh, Bedford T. Bentley III The Motel Director: Michael Kang Producers: Matthew Greenfield, Miguel Arteta, Gina Kwon, Karin Chien Sweet Land Director: Ali Selim Producers: Alan Cumming, James Bigham, Ali Selim Wristcutters: A Love Story Director: Goran Dukic Producers: Adam Sherman, Chris Coen, Tatiana Kelly, Mikal P. Lazarev BEST DIRECTOR Robert Altman - A Prairie Home Companion Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris - Little Miss Sunshine Ryan Fleck - Half Nelson Karen Moncrieff - The Dead Girl Steven Soderbergh - Bubble JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer) NOTE: Executive Producers are not listed. Chalk Director: Mike Akel Producers: Mike Akel, Angela Alvarez, Graham Davidson, Chris Mass Writers: Chris Mass & Mike Akel Four Eyed Monsters Writer/Director/Producers: Arin Crumley & Susan Buice Old Joy Director: Kelly Reichardt Producers: Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Anish Savjani, Neil Kopp Writers: Jon Raymond & Kelly Reichardt Quinceanera Writer/Directors: Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland Producer: Anne Clements Twelve and Holding Director: Michael Cuesta Producers: Leslie Urdang, Michael Cuesta, Brian Bell, Jenny Schweitzer Writer: Anthony S. Cipriano BEST SCREENPLAY Neil Burger - The Illusionist Nicole Holofcener - Friends with Money Ron Nyswaner - The Painted Veil Jason Reitman - Thank You For Smoking Jeff Stanzler - Sorry, Haters BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Michael Arndt - Little Miss Sunshine Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck - Half Nelson Goran Dukic - Wristcutters: A Love Story Dito Montiel - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Gabrielle Zevin - Conversations with Other Women BEST FEMALE LEAD Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration Elizabeth Reaser - Sweet Land Michelle Williams - Land of Plenty Robin Wright Penn - Sorry, Haters BEST MALE LEAD Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson Edward Norton - The Painted Veil Ahmad Razvi Man - Push Cart Forest Whitaker - American Gun BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE Melonie Diaz - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Marcia Gay Harden - American Gun Mary Beth Hurt - The Dead Girl Frances McDormand - Friends with Money Amber Tamblyn - Stephanie Daley BEST SUPPORTING MALE Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine Raymond J. Barry - Steel City Daniel Craig - Infamous Paul Dano - Little Miss Sunshine Channing Tatum - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Arin Crumley - Four Eyed Monsters Anthony Dod Mantle - Brothers of the Head Guillermo Navarro - Pan's Labyrinth Aaron Platt - Wild Tigers I Have Known Michael Simmonds - Man Push Cart BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director) A Lion in the House Directors: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert My Country, My Country Director: Laura Poitras The Road to Guantanamo Directors: Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross The Trials of Darryl Hunt Directors: Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern You're Gonna Miss Me Director: Keven McAlester BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director) 12:08 East of Bucharest Director: Corneliu Porumboiu (Romania) The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros Director: Auraeus Solito (Philippines) Chronicle of an Escape Director: Israel Adrian Caetano (Argentina) Days of Glory Director: Rachid Bouchareb (France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium) The Lives of Others Director: Florian Henckel von (Germany) Donnersmarck