Carol directed by Todd Haynes lead nominations for the 2016 Spirit Awards with 6 nods including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Female Lead for both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, Best Sreenplay and Best Cinematography. The other nominees for Best Feature included Anomalisa, Beasts of No Nation, Spotlight and Tangerine.
Spotlight was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts.
“Spotlight is a remarkable film that excels on every level, but the Nominating Committee thought it was especially deserving of the Robert Altman Award,” said Welsh. “The film is beautifully cast with every member of the ensemble working together to tell the story of the Boston Globe investigating allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church.”
Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 27, 2016.
2016 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS
BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
Anomalisa
Producers: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman, Dino Stamatopoulos, Rosa Tran
Beasts of No Nation
Producers: Daniel Crown, Idris Elba, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Amy Kaufman, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker
Carol
Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley
Spotlight
Producers: Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar
Tangerine
Producers: Sean Baker, Karrie Cox, Marcus Cox, Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou
BEST FIRST FEATURE – Award given to the director and producer.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Director: Marielle Heller
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit
James White
Director: Josh Mond
Producers: Max Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, Eric Schultz
Manos Sucias
Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka
Producers: Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes
Mediterranea
Director: Jonas Carpignano
Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, Ryan Zacarias
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Director/Producer: Chloé Zhao
Producers: Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, Forest Whitaker
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
Advantageous
Writer/Director/Producer: Jennifer Phang
Writer/Producer: Jacqueline Kim
Producers: Robert Chang, Ken Jeong, Moon Molson, Theresa Navarro
Christmas, Again
Writer/Director/Producer: Charles Poekel
Heaven Knows What
Directors: Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie
Writers: Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
Producers: Oscar Boyson, Sebastian Bear McClard
Krisha
Writer/Director/Producer: Trey Edward Shults
Producers: Justin R. Chan, Chase Joliet, Wilson Smith
Out of My Hand
Writer/Director: Takeshi Fukunaga
Writer/Producer: Donari Braxton
Producer: Mike Fox
BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker; Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga; Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes; Carol
Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman; Anomalisa; Tom McCarthy
Spotlight; David Robert Mitchell
It Follows
BEST SCREENPLAY
Charlie Kaufman; Anomalisa
Donald Margulies; The End of the Tour
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer; Spotlight
Phyllis Nagy; Carol
S. Craig Zahler; Bone Tomahawk
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Jesse Andrews; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jonas Carpignano; Mediterranea
Emma Donoghue; Room
Marielle Heller; The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary, Story by Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph; The Mend
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cary Joji Fukunaga; Beasts of No Nation
Michael Gioulakis; It Follows
Ed Lachman; Carol
Reed Morano; Meadowland
Joshua James Richards; Songs My Brothers Taught Me
BEST EDITING
Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie; Heaven Knows What
Tom McArdle; Spotlight
Nathan Nugent; Room
Julio C. Perez IV; It Follows
Kristan Sprague; Manos Sucias
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Cate Blanchett; Carol
Brie Larson; Room
Rooney Mara; Carol
Bel Powley; The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez; Tangerine
BEST MALE LEAD
Christopher Abbott; James White
Abraham Attah; Beasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn; Mississippi Grind
Jason Segel; The End of the Tour
Koudous Seihon; Mediterranea
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Robin Bartlett; H.
Marin Ireland; Glass Chin
Jennifer Jason Leigh; Anomalisa
Cynthia Nixon; James White
Mya Taylor; Tangerine
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Kevin Corrigan; Results
Paul Dano; Love & Mercy
Idris Elba; Beasts of No Nation
Richard Jenkins; Bone Tomahawk
Michael Shannon; 99 Homes
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.
Spotlight
Director: Tom McCarthy
Casting Directors:Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee
Ensemble Cast: Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian d’Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci
BEST DOCUMENTARY – Award given to the director and producer.
(T)ERROR
Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe
Producer: Christopher St. John
Best of Enemies
Directors/Producers: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville
Heart of a Dog
Director/Producer: Laurie Anderson
Producer: Dan Janvey
The Look of Silence
Director:Joshua Oppenheimer
Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen
Meru
Directors/Producers: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Producer: Shannon Ethridge
The Russian Woodpecker
Director/Producer: Chad Gracia
Producers: Ram Devineni, Mike Lerner
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM – Award given to the director.
Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia); Director: Ciro Guerra
Girlhood (France); Director: Céline Sciamma
Mustang (France, Turkey); Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden); Director: Roy Andersson
Son of Saul (Hungary); Director: László Nemes
19th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 19th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn
Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith
22nd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 22nd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
God Bless the Child; Directors: Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
King Jack; Director: Felix Thompson
Songs My Brothers Taught Me; Director: Chloé Zhao
21st TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 21st annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Among the Believers; Directors: Mohammed Ali Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi
Incorruptible; Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
A Woman Like Me; Directors: Elizabeth Giamatti and Alex SichelTHE END OF THE TOUR
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WHITE GOD and WALKING UNDER WATER Win Top Awards at 2015 Sarasota Film Festival

Kornel Mundruczo’s Cannes award-winning White God (pictured above) took home the Narrative Feature Jury prize at the 2015 Sarasota Film Festival.
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Steve Jobs Documentary to Open 2015 San Francisco International Film Festival
The Big Nights selections are revealed for the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 23 – May 7, 2015. including the Opening Night, Centerpiece and Closing Night programs. The two-week festival kicks off with the Opening Night presentation of Alex Gibney’s fascinating documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (USA 2015), about the tech icon. The End of the Tour (USA 2015), James Ponsoldt’s acclaimed portrait of David Foster Wallace starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, is slated for the Festival’s high-profile Centerpiece spot. Finally, the Festival will come to a close with celebrated veteran director Michael Almereyda’s drama Experimenter (USA 2015), starring Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder.
Opening Night: Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
When Steve Jobs died in 2011, the world mourned. But why, asks Alex Gibney, were people who never knew him moved to tears by the death of a businessman who sold them products? Featuring frank interviews with close friends and former colleagues, the film adds detail, nuance and counterpoint to the burnished tale of Jobs’ journey from garage to corner office, offering a bracingly candid inquiry into his genius and his flaws as well as our own relationship to technology.
Centerpiece: The End of the Tour
A novelist of modest success wins an assignment from Rolling Stone to follow David Foster Wallace on the end of his Infinite Jest publicity tour. Over the course of five days, the two engage in heady discourse about art, the modern world and the pitfalls of self-conscious living while skirting the borders between friendship and professional distance. Based on writer Dave Lipsky’s memoir, James Ponsoldt’s melancholy chamber piece exhibits the director’s characteristic generosity toward human imperfection embodied in Jason Segel’s quietly affecting performance as Wallace.
Closing Night: Experimenter
This inventive and playful biography of scientist Stanley Milgram revisits his famous experiment, in which subjects were made to believe they were administering electric shocks to others in order to test why people will cede to authority, no matter how brutal the request. An examination of scientific ethics, the drama also explores the moral consequences of “just following orders.” Anchored by a riveting performance from Peter Sarsgaard as Milgram, iconoclastic genius Michael Almereyda (Hamlet) has delivered a timely and important film about the role of science in our society.
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Complete Film Lineup Announced for 2015 Sarasota Film Festival

The Sarasota Film Festival announced its full line-up, including its Narrative Feature Competition, Independent Visions Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, its Sundance/Gate Foundation Shorts, its Centerpiece and Spotlight films, and its Best of the Web Program for the 2015 Festival taking place April 10th Through April 19th, 2015.
