There's more than one way to skin a cat, shoot a scene, or get your film crowdfinanced -- though some ways may be better than others. In terms of the third category, few startups get a higher-profile crowdfunding boost than those with successful Kickstarter campaigns. Generally once fund-raising is complete projects are left to fend for themselves -- now, however, one of the first post-Kickstarter success patterns seems to be emerging with the Independent Spirit Awards' recent announcement of its nominees.

Not one, not two, but seven 'Kickstarted' films made the cut, across all manner of categories. This is surely a cause for celebration for both the filmmakers and the crowdfunder, especially since the perception of Kickstarter as a viable part of film's embryonic stages is all the more reinforced. Here's the list of the nominees that come from Kickstarter beginnings:

Best Feature:Keep the Lights On
Best Documentary:The Waiting Room
John Cassavetes Award for Best Film Under $500k:Mosquita y Mari
Best First Screenplay: Jonathan Lisecki, Gayby
Best Screenplay: Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, Keep the Lights On
Best Director: Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On
Best First Feature:Gimme the Loot
Best Male Lead: Thur Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On
Someone to Watch Award: Adam Leon, Gimme the Loot and Rebecca Thomas, Electrick Children
Truer Than Fiction Award: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims, Only the Young and Pete Nicks, The Waiting Room.

Below are some trailers for some of the major contenders. You can also check out the Kickstarter homepages to each of these films via the links above. Here's the trailer for Keep the Lights On, which has the most nominations out of this Kickstarter crew:

The trailer for Gimme the Loot:

And finally, the trailer for the John Cassavetes Award for Best Film Under $500K, Mosquita y Mari:

I think it's great that we're starting to see some real success from Kickstarter -- not that success hasn't been found aplenty before, but the consistency here certainly spells good news for (truly) independent film.

Are you guys impressed with this news? Do you think it's coincidental -- or instead a real sign of the caliber of projects that can come out of Kickstarter? Let us know what you think below in the comments.

Link: Film Independent Spirit Awards

[via Kickstarter tumblr]

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Fundraising & Crowdfunding