'Moonrise Kingdom,' 'Beasts' & 'Keep the Lights On' Lead Spirit Awards Nominations

Film Independent unveiled its 28th Spirit Award nominations Tuesday with last night's Gothams winner Moonrise Kingdom joining the pack of Best Feature nominees which also includes Beasts of the Southern Wild, Bernie, Keep the Lights On and Silver Linings Playbook.

Wes Anderson also picked up a Best Director nomination along with Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ira Sachs for Keep the Lights On and David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook.

Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 23, 2013. The awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

"The nominations this year represent an astonishingly strong group of artists both in front of and behind the camera," said Film Independent Co-president Josh Welsh. "At Film Independent, we nurture artist-driven filmmaking all year long and I can't imagine a more fitting or worthy group of films to celebrate here today."

2013 Spirit Awards Nominees:

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not awarded)

Beasts of the Southern Wild, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey & Josh Penn

Bernie, Producers: Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams

Keep the Lights On, Producers: Marie Therese Guirgis, Lucas Joaquin, Ira Sachs

Moonrise Kingdom, Producers: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin

Silver Linings Playbook, Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

BEST DIRECTOR:

Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST SCREENPLAY:

Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer):
Fill the Void, DIRECTOR: Rama Burshtein, PRODUCER: Assaf Amir

Gimme the Loot, DIRECTOR: Adam Leon, PRODUCERS: Dominic Buchanan, Natalie Difford, Jamund Washington

Safety Not Guaranteed, DIRECTOR: Colin Trevorrow
PRODUCERS: Derek Connolly, Stephanie Langhoff, Peter Saraf, Colin Trevorrow, Marc Turtletaub

Sound of My Voice, DIRECTOR: Zal Batmanglij, PRODUCERS: Brit Marling, Hans Ritter, Shelley Surpin

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, DIRECTOR: Stephen Chbosky, PRODUCERS: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY:
Rama Burshtein, Fill the Void
Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Celeste and Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki, Gayby

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
Breakfast with Curtis, WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Laura Colella

Middle of Nowhere, WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ava DuVernay, PRODUCERS: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes

Mosquita y Mari, WRITER/DIRECTOR: Aurora Guerrero
PRODUCER: Chad Burris

Starlet WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sean Baker, PRODUCERS: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Francesca Silvestri

The Color Wheel, WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Alex Ross Perry, WRITER: Carlen Altman

BEST FEMALE LEAD:

Linda Cardellini, Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

BEST MALE LEAD:

Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On
Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce, Four

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE:

Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister’s Sister
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere

BEST SUPPORTING MALE:

Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere
Michael Péna, End of Watch
Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Yoni Brook, Valley of Saints
Lol Crawley, Here
Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov, End of Watch
Robert Yeoman, Moonrise Kingdom

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer):

How to Survive a Plague DIRECTOR: David France
PRODUCERS: David France, Howard Gertler

Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present, DIRECTOR: Matthew Akers, PRODUCERS: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre

The Central Park Five, DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon

The Invisible War, DIRECTOR: Kirby Dick, PRODUCERS: Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering

The Waiting Room, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Peter Nicks
PRODUCERS: Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director):

Amour (France) DIRECTOR: Michael Haneke

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, (Turkey) DIRECTOR: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Rust And Bone (France/Belgium) DIRECTOR: Jacques Audiard

Sister (Switzerland) DIRECTOR: Ursula Meier

War Witch (Democratic Republic of Congo)
DIRECTOR: Kim Nguyen

16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 16th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Nobody Walks PRODUCER: Alicia Van Couvering
Prince Avalanche, PRODUCER: Derrick Tseng
Stones in the Sun, PRODUCER: Mynette Louie

19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 19th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Pincus, DIRECTOR: David Fenster
Gimme the Loot, DIRECTOR: Adam Leon
Electrick Children, DIRECTOR: Rebecca Thomas

STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 18th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Leviathan, DIRECTOR: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
The Waiting Room, DIRECTOR: Peter Nicks
Only the Young, DIRECTOR: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims

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

Starlet, Director: Sean Baker, Casting Director: Julia Kim
Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone