It’s certainly been a good year for gay-themed films amongst the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards, the pre-eminent indie awards ceremony (films are only eligible if they have a budget of less and $20 million), which takes place ahead of the Oscars each year. Leading the way is the acclaimed Moonlight, Barry Jenkins’ film about a young, gay African-American, which picked up six noms, equal with the Shia LaBeouf starrer, American Honey.
It’s up for Best Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and is the sole nominee for the Robert Altman Award for Best Ensemble.
Also gettin multiple nods was Other People, starring Jesse Plemons as a gay guy who heads home to take care of his dying mother. It picked up four nominations for Plemons, co-star Molly Shannon, Chris Kelly for his screenplay and director Chris Kelly for Best First Feature.
However, Moonlight and Other People weren’t only the gay-themed films up for awards, with Spa Night (about a closeted Korean-American teenager) director Andrew Ahn up for the John Cassavettes Award (for Best Feature Made For Under $5,000) and Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award. Lesbian crime drama Women Who Kill, was also nominated for the Kiehl’s Award, for director Ingrid Jungermann, while Certain Women was nominated for Best Director for Kelly Reichardt, while Lily Gladstone, whose character falls for Kristen Stewart in the movie, is up for Best Supporting Female.
There were also a couple of gay-themed documentaries in the mix, with ball-culture doc Kiki up for the Truer Than Fiction Award, while I Am Not Your Negro, about gay, African-American writer James Baldwin’s unfinished novel, Remember This House, is included in the Best Docuemntary category.
It’s certainly an impressive validation for LGBT-themed movies this year, with the hope that at least some of them will go on to be winners when the gongs are handed out early next year. Take a look at the full list of nominees below.
BEST FEATURE
Moonlight
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
American Honey
Chronic
BEST DIRECTOR
Andrea Arnold – American Honey
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Pablo Larrain – Jackie
Jeff Nichols – Loving
Kelly Reichardt – Certain Women
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening – 20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Sasha Lane – American Honey
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie
BEST MALE LEAD
Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
David Harewood – Free In Deed
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Jesse Plemons – Other People
Tim Roth – Chronic
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Edwina Findley – Free In Deed
Paulina Garcia – Little Men
Lily Gladstone – Certain Women
Riley Keough – American Honey
Molly Shannon – Other People
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Ralph Fiennes – A Bigger Splash
Ben Foster – Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Shia LaBeouf – American Honey
Craig Robinson – Morris from America
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Swiss Army Man
The Childhood of a Leader
The Fits
Other People
The Witch
BEST SCREENPLAY
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills – 20th Century Women
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias – Little Men
Taylor Sheridan – Hell or High Water
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Robert Eggers – The Witch
Chris Kelly – Other People
Adam Mansbach – Barry
Stella Meghie – Jean of the Joneses
Craig Shilowich – Christine
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ava Berkofsky – Free In Deed
Lol Crawley – The Childhood of a Leader
Zach Kuperstein – The Eyes of My Mother
James Laxton – Moonlight
Robbie Ryan – American Honey
BEST EDITING
Matthew Hannam – Swiss Army Man
Jennifer Lame – Manchester by the Sea
Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders – Moonlight
Jake Roberts – Hell or High Water
Sebastián Sepúlveda – Jackie
BEST DOCUMENTARY
The 13th
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America
Sonita
Under the Sun
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Aquarius (Brazil)
Chevalier (Greece)
My Golden Days (France)
Toni Erdmann (Germany and Romania)
Under the Shadow (Iran and U.K.)
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Best Ensemble)
Moonlight
JOHN CASSAVETTES AWARD (Best Feature Made For Under $5,000)
Free In Deed
Hunter Gatherer
Lovesong
Nakom
Spa Night
KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Andrew Ahn – Spa Night
Claire Carré – Embers
Anna Rose Holmer – The Fits
Ingrid Jungermann – Women Who Kill
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