The leaders garnered five nods apiece on Tuesday [27] followed by Beasts Of The Southern Wild on four. David O Russell, Wes Anderson and Benh Zeitlin are nominated for best director, while Jennifer Lawrence and Quvenzhane Wallis are in contention for female lead and Bradley Cooper competes in the male category.

Michael Haneke’s Amour, Jacques Audiard’s Rust And Bone and Kim Nguyen’s War Witch are among the best international film nominees.

The 25th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards will take place on Feb 23 on the beach in Santa Monica.

Best Feature - award given to the producer, not executive producers
Beasts Of The Southern Wild — Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey and Josh Penn
Bernie — Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams
Keep The Lights On — Marie Therese Guirgis, Lucas Joaquin, Ira Sachs
Moonrise Kingdom -- Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin
Silver Linings Playbook - 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 and 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
Fill The Void – dir Rama Burshtein; pdr Assaf Amir
Gimme The Loot – dir Adam Leon; pdrs Dominic Buchanan, Natalie Difford, Jamund Washington
Safety Not Guaranteed – dir Colin Trevorrow; pdrs Derek Connolly, Stephanie Langhoff, Peter Saraf, Colin Trevorrow, Marc Turtletaub
Sound Of My Voice – dir Zal Batmanglij; pdrs Brit Marling, Hans Ritter, Shelley Surpin
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower – dis Stephen Chbosky; pdrs 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 and Will McCormack – Celeste And Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki – Gayby

John Cassavetes Award – given to first feature made for under $500,000. Awarded to the writer, director and producer but not to the executive producer.
Breakfast With Curtis – wr/dir/pdr Laura Colella
Middle Of Nowhere – wr/dir/pdr Ava DuVernay; pdrs Howard Barish, Paul Garnes
Mosquita Y Mari – wr/dir Aurora Guerrero; pdr Chad Burris
Starlet – wr/dir Sean Baker; pdrs Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Francesca Silvestri
The Color Wheel – wr/dir/pdr Alex Ross Perry; wr Carlen Altman

Best Female Lead
Linda Cardellini – Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi – Middle Of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhane 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 Pena – 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 – given to the director and producer
How To Survive A Plague – dir David France; pdrs David France, Howard Gertler
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present – dir Matthew Akers; pdrs Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre
The Central Park Five – dirs/pdrs Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
The Invisible War – dir Kirby Dick; pdrs Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering
The Waiting Room – dir/pdr Peter Nicks; pdrs Linda Davis, William B Hirsch

Best International Film
Amour (France) – Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Turkey) – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust And Bone (France/Belgium) – Jacques Audiard
Sister (Switzerland) – Ursula Meier
War Witch (Canada) – Kim Nguyen

16th Annual Piaget Producers Award – honours 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.
Pincus– David Fenster
Gimme The Loot – Adam Leon
Electrick Children – 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– Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel
The Waiting Room

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