Awards Season: Winter Showed Its Independence

December 1, 2010

The official arrival of winter is still a few weeks away, but Winter's Bone ushered in the start of Awards Season picking up seven Independent Spirit Award nominations. This was the most of any film, with The Kids Are All Right placing second with five.

The categories and nominations are...

BEST FEATURE

BEST DIRECTOR

BEST SCREENPLAY

BEST FIRST FEATURE

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)

BEST FEMALE LEAD

BEST MALE LEAD

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BEST FOREIGN FILM

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)

Please Give

Also announced were the nominees for the three Filmmaker Grant Awards.

Acura Someone to Watch Award

  • Hossein Keshavarz for Dog Sweat
  • Laurel Nakadate for The Wolf Knife
  • Mike Ott for Littlerock
Lacoste Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention.

Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films.

  • In-Ah Lee for Au Revoir Taipei
  • Adele Romanski for The Myth of the American Sleepover
  • Anish Savjani for Meek’s Cutoff
Notes and Reactions...

  • As previously stated, Winter's Bone led the way with seven nominations and The Kids Are All Right earned five. Neither of these performances are shocking, as both were expected to do well.
  • Likewise, Black Swan earning four nominations is not a shock either. However, Rabbit Hole has flown a little under the radar for its four nominations, while Greenberg was considered a critical disappointment, plus it opened really early in the year, so I wasn't expecting it to be remembered during Awards Season.
  • On the other end of the spectrum, I was expecting 127 Hours to earn more nominations, especially for cinematography, and maybe screenplay. However, three nominations is still a good performance and puts in in the same class as Tiny Furniture and Jack Goes Boating.
  • The Last Exorcism picked up two nominations? This is not the type of film that is usually given this kind of recognition, while its overall reviews were not up to the level normally associated with an Awards Season player.

-

Filed under: Awards Season, Please Give, Mother and Child, Greenberg, Jack Goes Boating, Get Low, Cyrus, The Exploding Girl, The Kids Are All Right, The Last Exorcism, Restrepo, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Lbs., Winter’s Bone, Sweetgrass, Daddy Long Legs, Mademoiselle Chambon, Never Let Me Go, Kisses, Life During Wartime, Lovely, Still, Black Swan, 127 Hours, Blue Valentine, Meek's Cutoff, Tiny Furniture, The King’s Speech, Rabbit Hole, Night Catches Us, Marwencol, Des Hommes et Des Dieux