Before the big dogs have their day, the indie pups will get their say. The 2017 Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced today, and it turned out to be a very good day for Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight, and American Honey.
Barry Jenkins' acclaimed drama Moonlight tied Andrea Arnold's road trip film American Honey with six nominations, including Best Director and Best Feature. Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea came away with five nominations.
The farting corpse of Daniel Radcliffe somehow earned Swiss Army Man directors The Daniels a nomination for Best First Feature, but it's surrounded by some seriously tough competition. Some welcome surprises include the love given to Other People, with nominations for Molly Shannon in Best Supporting Female and Jesse Plemons for Best Male Lead. Craig Robinson being recognized for what I think is a breakout role in Morris from America was also good to see.
Here's the full list of nominees:
Best Feature
American Honey
Chronic
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director
Andrea Arnold, American Honey
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Pablo Larraín, Jackie
Jeff Nichols, Loving
Kelly Reichardt, Certain Women
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 Women
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Sasha Lane, American Honey
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Best Supporting Female
Edwina Findley, Free In Deed
Paulina Garcia, Little Men
Lily Gladstone, Certain Women
Riley Keough, American Honey
Molly Shannon, Other People
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 First Feature
The Childhood of a Leader
The Fits
Other People
Swiss Army Man
The Witch
Best Documentary
13th
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
OJ: Made in America
Sonita
Under the Sun
Best Screenplay
Barry Jenkins (story by Tarell Alvin McCraney), Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias, Little Men
Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water
Best First Screenplay
Robert Eggers, The Witch
Chris Kelly, Other People
Adam Mansbach, Barry
Stella Meghie, Jean of the Joneses
Craig Shilowich, Christine
Best Cinematography
Ava Berkofsky, Free In Deed
Lol Crawley, The Childhood of a Leader
Zach Kuperstein, The Eyes of My Mother
James Laxton, Moonlight
Robbie Ryan, American Honey
Best Editing
Matthew Hannam, Swiss Army Man
Jennifer Lame, Manchester by the Sea
Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders, Moonlight
Jake Roberts, Hell or High Water
Sebastián Sepúlveda, Jackie
Best International Film
Aquarius
Chevalier
My Golden Days
Toni Erdmann
Under the Shadow
John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000)
Free in Deed
Hunter Gatherer
Lovesong
Nakom
Spa Night
Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble)
Moonlight
