Independent Spirit Nominees Announced

Award season is officially underway with the announcement of 2015’s Independent Spirit nominees. Carol leads the pack with a total of six nominations, followed by Beasts of No Nation with five nominations and Spotlight with four. Perhaps the biggest victory here, though, was for Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa. The stop-motion film scored four nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Supporting Female for Jennifer Jason Leigh. Sean Baker’s Tangerine rounded up the Best Feature lineup with a total of four nominations.

Surprisingly missing from the Best Feature category is Room, although Brie Larson did receive a deserving Best Female Lead nomination. It should also be noted that Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara were also both nominated in the Best Female Lead category. Does that mean Mara will officially be considered a lead actress come Oscar time?

Check out the full list of nominees below:

Best Feature
Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
Spotlight
Tangerine

Best Director
Cary Joji Fukunaga: Beasts of No Nation
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson:  Anomalisa
David Robert Mitchell: It Follows
Sean Baker: Tangerine
Todd Haynes: Carol
Tom McCarthy: Spotlight

Best Female Lead
Bel Powley: Diary of a Teenage Girl
Brie Larson: Room
Cate Blanchett: Carol
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez: Tangerine
Rooney Mara: Carol

Best Male Lead
Abraham Attah: Beasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn: Mississippi Grind
Christopher Abbott:  James White
Jason Segel: The End of the Tour
Kudos Seihon: Mediterranea

Best Supporting Female
Cynthia Nixon: James White
Jennifer Jason Leigh: Anomalisa
Marin Ireland: Glass Chin
Mya Taylor: Tangerine
Robin Bartlett: H.

Best Supporting Male
Idris Elba: Beasts of No Nation
Kevin Corrigan: Results
Michael Shannon: 99 Homes
Paul Dano: Love & Mercy
Richard Jenkins: Bone Tomahawk

Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman: Anomalisa
Donald Marguiles: The End of the Tour
Phyllis Nagy: Carol
S. Craig Zahler: Bone Tomahawk
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer: Spotlight

Best Cinematography
Cary Joji Fukunaga: Beasts of No Nation
Ed Lachman: Carol
Joshua James Richards: Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Michael Gioulakis: It Follows
Reed Morano: Meadowland

Best Documentary
(T)error
Best of Enemies
Heart of a Dog
Meru
The Look of Silence
The Russian Woodpecker

Best Film Editing
Julio C. Perez IV: It Follows
Kristan Sprague: Manos Sucias
Nathan Nugent: Room
Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie: Heaven Knows What
Tom McArdle: Spotlight

Best First Feature
James White
Manos Sucias
Mediterranea
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Best First Screenplay
Emma Donoghue: Room
Jesse Andrews: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, and Myna Joseph: The Mend
Jonas Carpignano: Mediterranea
Marielle Heller: The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Best International Film
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Embrace of the Serpent
Girlhood
Mustang
Son of Saul

John Cassavetes Award
Advantageous
Christmas, Again
Heaven Knows What
Krisha
Out of My Mind

Robert Altman Award
Spotlight

The winners for the 31st Independent Spirit Awards will be announced on February 27, 2016.