Narrowly saving you from a ghastly Thanksgiving dinner where, rather than debating the year’s best independent films, your family members are forced to talk about themselves, nominations were announced today for the annual Film Independent Spirit Awards. Fittingly (or ironically, depending on how you want to read it) this year’s embodiment of the independent spirit is 12 Years A Slave, which topped the list with a total of seven nominations, including Best Feature. It just narrowly edged out fellow Best Feature nominee Nebraska, with the Alexander Payne drama scoring six total nods—including a Best Supporting nomination for Will Forte, which he can now bring up any time someone tries to dismiss him as "MacGruber."
Others vying for the top prize include Inside Llewyn Davis, Frances Ha, and All Is Lost, while the exclusion of bigger-budget Oscar contenders such as Gravity, The Wolf Of Wall Street, and American Hustle also freed up the ballot to consider some dark horses like Upstream Color’s Shane Carruth, Mud’s Jeff Nichols, and Short Term 12’s Brie Larson. Winners will be announced during the Patton Oswalt-hosted ceremony on March 1, 2014, then immediately overshadowed by the Oscars the very next night.
BEST FEATURE
12 Years A Slave
All Is Lost
Frances Ha
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
BEST MALE LEAD
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All Is Lost
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Gaby Hoffman, Crystal Fairy
Brie Larson, Short Term 12
Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Will Forte, Nebraska
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Keith Stanfield, Short Term 12
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Melonie Diaz, Fruitvale Station
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Lupita N'Yongo, 12 Years A Slave
Yolanda Ross, Go For Sisters
June Squibb, Nebraska
BEST DIRECTOR
Shane Carruth, Upstream Color
J.C. Chandor, All Is Lost
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
Jeff Nichols, Mud
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
BEST SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater, Before Midnight
Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Spectacular Now
John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave