Independent Spirit Awards. Nominations.

Alison Willmore's got the full list of Independent Spirit Awards nominees at IFC News. At first glance, the front runners appear to be Little Miss Sunshine and Half Nelson.

Updates: Blogging for Filmmaker, Jason Guerrasio's "very happy to see Ali Selim's Sweet Land nominated for Best First Feature and Best Female Lead for Elizabeth Reaser."

Anne Thompson notes that the nominations shine "the spotlight on deserving low-budget movies that may not have gotten the attention they deserved during the year," put them in the running for the slew of year-end best-of lists and "help several Oscar campaigns." For example, "ThinkFilm's push for Ryan Gosling for Best Actor now actually has a chance."

Updated through 11/30.

Cinematical's Erik Davis: "And hey, check out Four Eyed Monsters - this little indie film (directed by Arin Crumley and Susan Buice) managed to snag two nods, one for Cinematography and one for the John Cassavetes Award (otherwise known as the best feature made for under $500,000), despite the fact that it never found a distributor.... Go see this film. Pretty please." For more, see Caroline Palmer in the Voice on this "fresh, witty, and contemporary take on the perennial boy-meets-girl story."

At Slackerwood, Jette Kernion notes that local favorite Chalk is also up for the Cassavetes Award. She caught it at the Austin Film Festival "and thought it was a lot of fun to watch, especially in an audience full of teachers."

After watching Sarah Silverman host last year's ceremony - and she'll be back this year - the Bagger's got "a soft spot for the event."

Nathaniel R on the acting categories.

"It would appear that Film Independent took last year's gripes, that the noms had become too mainstream, very, very seriously." The first of Karina Longworth's seven initial observations.

Gabriel Shanks: "We're pleased to see the nominations for Catherine O'Hara (lead actress) and Neil Burger (best screenplay), even though neither of their films scored in other categories."

Updates, 11/29: David Poland notes that the list is "more 'indie' than it has been in a loooooong time" and, for contrast, points to Gregg Goldstein piece in the Hollywood Reporter: "'I don't think the Gotham Awards are about independent film,' says Independent Feature Project executive director Michelle Byrd, the leader of her group's 16-year-old awards ceremony. A surprising statement - some would say admission - coming from the head of one of the largest independent film organizations in the country, but it might help explain some of the controversy that has enveloped this year's awards."

Susan King talks with Dawn Hudson, executive director of Film Independent, for the Los Angeles Times: "We saw a lot of first-time filmmakers. As more and more filmmakers have access to the tools of filmmaking, you see a lot more talent and diversity of talent. It's an incredibly exciting time for film. I think it is the strength of the Spirit Awards that many of the films have gone unnoticed by the mainstream press or are not in theaters for long - a lot of these films deserve a wider audience."

Eugene Hernandez at indieWIRE: "Film Independent also announced the presentation of a Special Distinction Award to David Lynch and Laura Dern for their work on Inland Empire."

Reverse Shot congratulates Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, whose A Lion in the House is nominated in the Best Documentary category.

The Reeler doesn't have to look far to see "a ton" of "New York-linked" nominations.

Joe Leydon: "At the risk of sounding presumptuous at best, paternalistic at worst, I must confess to stirrings of pride as I see Michael Kang's The Motel listed among the five nominees in the Best First Feature category of Film Independent's Spirit Awards. I wrote one of the earliest reviews for this excellent indie when I covered it for Variety at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. And I've been raving about it ever since to anyone willing to listen."

Jim Emerson's biggest disappointments: "No documentary nominations for 51 Birch Street or The Bridge. The former may have been too deceptively simple and artless (in truth, it's a complex work of art) and the latter too cold and disturbing for many in the Indie tent-party crowd."

Michael Guill�n offers his thoughts on nearly every category.

AJ Schnack: "On a personal note, I want to say how very honored I am to be a representative of nonfiction filmmaking at this year's Independent Spirit Awards and how proud I truly am to be part of this community of filmmakers. Congrats to all the other nominees."

Anne Thompson highlights the nominees without distribution.

Update, 11/30: Salon's Andrew O'Hehir: "All in all, it's a diverse and invigorating list. I've been gearing up to write a year-end column about 2006 as a down year for indie pictures, simultaneously commercially chilly and aesthetically low-wattage, but now I'm not so sure it's true."

Posted by dwhudson at November 28, 2006 9:26 AM