It's that time of year again, when independent films (both local and international), the actors, and their creators are honored for the their work towards bringing unique visions to light on the small and big screen. The 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards announced their official nomination list including Hollywood stars like Idris Elba, Cate Blanchett, and Rooney Mara will be acknowledged for their character roles, as well as, up-and-coming actors and filmmakers.
Director Todd Haynes' Carol, starring Blanchett and Mara, leads the list with six nominations. Both actresses earned a "Best Female Lead" nod, Haynes is nominated for "Best Director," while the film in its entirety is up for "Best Feature."
Set in 1950s New York, the romantic drama film follows department store clerk Therese Belivet (Mara) who develops a relationship with an older married woman, Carol Aird (Blanchett). They soon learn their budding romance sparks some major consequences. The film was adapted from a Phyllis Nagy screenplay based on the novel The Price of Salt.
Cary Fukunaga's Beast of No Nation (starring Elba and Abraham Attah) and Tom McCarthy's Spotlight (starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams) tied for second place with five nominations including "Best Feature," "Best Director," and "Best Editing."
The Netflix orginial film, Beast of No Nation, is a war drama that surrounds young Agu (Attah) as he survives through a horrific war that destroys his West African village. He is soon found and forced into a violent army as a child soldier, under the reign of the battalion commander, Commandant (Elba).
Spotlight, which released in theaters earlier this month, tells the true story of The Boston Globe's Spotlight team (the oldest operating newspaper investigative team in the United States) who uncovered a massive child molestation cover-up within the Catholic church.
The 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards air on Saturday (Feb. 27), exclusively broadcast by IFC at 5 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. CT.
Check out the full list of nominees below:
Best Feature
Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
Spotlight
Tangerine
Best Director
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, Anomalisa
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes, Carol
David Robert Mitchell, It Follows
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Sean Baker, Tangerine
Best Female Lead
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Rooney Mara, Carol
Bel Powley, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Brie Larson, Room
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine
Best Male Lead
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
Christopher Abbot, James White
Koudous Seihon, Mediterranea
Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind
Best Supporting Female
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa
Marin Ireland, Glass Chin
Robin Bartlett, H.
Cynthia Nixon, James White
Mya Taylor, Tangerine
Best Supporting Male
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Kevin Corrigan, Results
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Best Screenplay
Anomalisa
Bone Tomahawk
Carol
The End of the Tour
Spotlight
Best First Feature
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
James White
Manos Sucas
Mediterranea
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Best First Screenplay
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Mediterranea
The Mend
Room
Best Editing
Beasts of No Nation
Heaven Knows What
It Follows
Room
Spotlight
Best Cinematography
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
It Follows
Meadowland
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Best Documentary
Best of Enemies
Heart of a Dog
“The Look of Silence
Meru
The Russian Woodpecker
(T)error
Best International Film
“Embrace of the Serpent
Girlhood
Mustang
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Son of Saul
John Cassavetes Award
Advantageous
Christmas, Again
Heaven Knows What
Krisha
Out of My Hand
Robert Altman Award
Spotlight
