One of the year's biggest critical and box office indie hits, Moonlight, as well as one of the most highly-anticipated films of 2016, Jackie, graced this year's Indie Spirit Awards Best Feature nominations, announced today. With the exception of Barry Jenkins for Moonlight, the Best Director nominations went to well-established auteurs (Andrea Arnold, Jeff Nichols, Kelly Reichardt, Pablo Larraín).
There were, however, some notable surprises: Chronic, a veritable wild card, was nominated for Best Feature, as well as Jean of the Joneses for Best Screenplay. Additionally, one of the most underrated (and underseen) films of the year, The Childhood of a Leader, was nominated for Best First Feature and Best Cinematography.
Some of these nominations are sure to see Oscar overlap—most notably, Moonlight and Jackie for Best Feature as well as Annette Bening and Casey Affleck for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively.
The Indie Spirit Awards will air on IFC on February 25. Below, you can find 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 First Feature
The Childhood of a Leader
The Fits
Other People
Swiss Army Man
The Witch
'Childhood of a Leader'
Best Female Lead
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Sasha Lane, American Honey
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
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 Supporting Female
Edwina Findley, Free In Deed
Paulina García, 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 Screenplay
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (story by Tarell Alvin McCraney)
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, Little Men
Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water
'A Bigger Splash'
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 and Nat Sanders, Moonlight
Jake Roberts, Hell or High Water
Sebastián Sepúlveda, Jackie
John Cassavetes Award
Free In Deed
Hunter Gatherer
Lovesong
Nakom
Spa Night
Robert Altman Award
American Honey
Moonlight (winner)
Morris from America
Best Documentary
13th
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America
Sonita
Under the Sun
Credit: 'Under the Shadow'
Best International Film
Aquarius (Brazil)
Chevalier (Greece)
My Golden Days (France)
Toni Erdmann (Germany and Romania)
Under the Shadow (Iran and U.K.)
Piaget Producers Award
Lisa Kjerulff
Jordana Mollick
Melody C. Roscher & Craig Shilowich
23rd Annual Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award
Andrew Ahn, Spa Night
Claire Carré, Embers
Anna Rose Holmer, The Fits
Ingrid Jungermann, Women Who Kill
22nd Truer Than Fiction Award
Kristi Jacobson, Solitary
Sara Jordenö, Kiki
Nanfu Wang, Hooligan Sparrow
