‘Birdman’ leads the list of 2014 Spirit Award nominations

341 movies were submitted, and nominating committees of “writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors, critics, casting directors, film festival programmers, and other working film professionals” chose their favorites. (What, no caterers?) Those votes were tallied and the results are the nominees below, for the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards, generally regarded as the most important and prestigious awards for independent film in the country.

This year ‘Birdman’ led all films with six nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male, Best Supporting Male and Female, and Best Cinematography. Not far behind were ‘Boyhood,’ ‘Nightcrawler,’ and ‘Selma,’ each with five nominations. As is often the case with the Spirit Awards, there’s a nice mix of higher-profile indies, like ‘Whiplash’ or ‘Obvious Child,’ and smaller ones, like ‘Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter,’ a surprise nominee for Best Director (for David Zellner).

Although ‘Inherent Vice’ and ‘Foxcatcher’ were deemed ineligible for nominations, the Spirits are giving them each an award anyway (hey, independent film awards shows need movie stars to show up too). ‘Inherent Vice’ is being given the Robert Altman Award for best ensemble of the year, and ‘Foxcatcher’ will receive a “Special Distinction Award” for “its uniqueness of vision, honesty of direction and screenwriting, superb acting and achievement on every level of filmmaking.”

The full list of nominees is below. The Film Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out February 21, 2015 on IFC.

2015 Sprit Award Nominations

Best Feature
‘Birdman’
‘Boyhood’
‘Love is Strange’
‘Selma’
‘Whiplash’

Best Director
Damien Chazelle, ‘Whiplash’
Ava DuVernay, ‘Selma’
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, ‘Birdman’
Richard Linklater, ‘Boyhood’
David Zellner, ‘Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter’

Best Screenplay
Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, ‘Big Eyes’
J.C. Chandor, ‘A Most Violent Year’
Dan Gilroy, ‘Nightcrawler’
Jim Jarmusch, ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, ‘Love Is Strange’

Best First Feature
‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’
‘Dear White People’
‘Nightcrawler’
‘Obvious Child’
‘She’s Lost Control’

Best First Screenplay
Desiree Akhavan, ‘Appropriate Behavior’
Sara Colangelo, ‘Little Accidents’
Justin Lader, ‘The One I Love’
Anja Marquardt, ‘She’s Lost Control’
Justin Simien, ‘Dear White People’

John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000)
‘Blue Ruin’
‘It Felt Like Love’
‘Land Ho!’
‘Man from Reno’
‘Test’

Best Female Lead
Marion Cotillard, ‘The Immigrant’
Rinko Kikuchi, ‘Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter’
Julianne Moore, ‘Still Alice’
Jenny Slate, ‘Obvious Child’
Tilda Swinton, ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ Best Male Lead

Best Male Lead
André Benjamin, ‘Jimi: All Is By My Side’
Jake Gyllenhaal, ‘Nightcrawler’
Michael Keaton, ‘Birdman’
John Lithgow, ‘Love Is Strange’
David Oyelowo, ‘Selma’

Best Supporting Female
Patricia Arquette, ‘Boyhood’
Jessica Chastain, ‘A Most Violent Year’
Carmen Ejogo, ‘Selma’
Andrea Suarez Paz, ‘Stand Clear of the Closing Doors’
Emma Stone, ‘Birdman’

Best Supporting Male
Riz Ahmed, ‘Nightcrawler’
Ethan Hawke, ‘Boyhood’
Alfred Molina, ‘Love is Strange’
Edward Norton, ‘Birdman’
J.K. Simmons, ‘Whiplash’

Best Cinematography
Darius Khondji, ‘The Immigrant’
Emmanuel Lubezki, ‘Birdman’
Sean Porter ‘It Felt Like Love’
Lyle Vincent, ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’
Bradford Young, ‘Selma’

Best Editing
Sandra Adair, ‘Boyhood’
Tom Cross, ‘Whiplash’
John Gilroy, ‘Nightcrawler’
Ron Patane, ‘A Most Violent Year’
Adam Wingard, ‘The Guest’

Best Documentary
‘20,000 Days on Earth’
‘Citizenfour’
‘Stray Dog’
‘The Salt of the Earth’
‘Virunga’

Best International Film
‘Force Majeure’ (Sweden)
‘Ida’ (Poland)
‘Leviathan’ (Russia)
‘Mommy’ (Canada)
‘Norte, the End of History’ (Philippines)
‘Under the Skin’ (United Kingdom)

Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble)
‘Inherent Vice’

Special Distinction Award
‘Foxcatcher’