The Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their slate of nominees for the organization’s 2012 ceremony, which will be held on February 25 of the new year. Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist, fresh off taking home the big prize from the New York Film Critics Circle, racked up another strong showing, hauling in a total of five nominations. Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter deservedly matched that number, while Alexander Payne’s The Descendants and Mike Mills’ Beginners (continuing its solid run as of late) both followed close behind with four mentions.
Cemented Oscar nominee George Clooney, interestingly enough, was left out of the Best Actor field, making way, I’m assuming, for either Demián Bichir (A Better Life) or Ryan Gosling (Drive) to snatch the number five spot. In another intriguing exclusion, The Artist‘s Bérénice Bejo, who’s looking more and more like a Best Supporting Actress nominee with each passing day, was given the shaft in her field.
But the Indie Spirits are usually primed to throw in a curveball or two in their process — you may or may not remember that Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism) scored a supporting nod last year — and that’s one of the reasons why they’re worth keeping an eye on. There are a great many of small-scale films that threaten to fall through the cracks each year — I certainly haven’t seen all of the nominated titles — and this ceremony, especially considering its eventual presentation just one day prior to the Academy Awards, shines a necessary spotlight on those works.
The full list of nominees can be found below.
Best Feature
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best First Feature
Best First Screenplay
John Cassavetes Award (Best feature made for under $500,000)
Best Female Lead
Best Male Lead
Best Supporting Female
Best Supporting Male
Best Cinematography
Best Documentary
Best International Film
Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble Cast)
Piaget Producers Award
Someone To Watch Award
Truer Than Fiction Award