The first thing to note here is the number of big names on the list. That so many prominent actors managed to find time to do indie films (some of them questionably indie), is a showcase of how important the genre still is. Of course, there are plenty of Oscar contenders on this list, including three of the top five nominees. Moonrise Kingdom made a strong showing and with Scott Rudin at the helm of its campaign, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of these nominations made it through the Oscars. As for Silver Linings Playbook? Rudin’s arch nemesis Harvey Weinstein is behind that one, leading towards another confrontation between the two this year. Playbook is more likely than Moonrise to duplicate its success here at the Oscars. Several other items are of note, but for now, I’ll let everyone soak in the rays of our first major precursor announcement.

Nomination Tallies

(5) Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook
(4) Beasts of the Southern Wild, Keep the Lights On, Middle of Nowhere
(2) Bernie, End of Watch, Fill the Void, Gimme the Loot, Safety Not Guaranteed, The Sessions, Seven Psychopaths, Sound of My Voice, Starlet, The Waiting Room

The Nominations

Best Feature

Beasts of the Southern Wild
Bernie
Keep the Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

Best First Feature

Fill the Void
Gimme the Loot
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Safety Not Guaranteed
Sound of My Voice

John Cassavetes Award

Breakfast with Curtis
Middle of Nowhere
Mosquita y Mari
Starlet
The Color Wheel

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 Female Lead

Emayatzy Corinealdi – Middle of Nowhere
Linda Cardellini – Return
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 Lindhart – 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 Screenplay

Keep the Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Ruby Sparks
Seven Psychopaths
Silver Linings Playbook

Best First Screenplay

Celeste and Jesse Forever
Fill the Void
Gayby
Robot & Frank
Safety Not Guaranteed

Best Cinematography

Valley of Saints
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Here
Moonrise Kingdom
End of Watch

Best International Film

Amour – France
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia – Turkey
Rust and Bone – France/Belgium
Sister – Switzerland
War Witch – Democratic Republic of Congo

Best Documentary

The Central Park Five
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present
The Waiting Room

Robert Altman Award

Starlet

Piaget Producers Award

Nobody Walks
Prince Avalanche
Stones in the Sun

Someone to Watch Award

Adam Leon – Gimme the Loot
David Fenster – Pincus
Rebecca Thomas – Electrick Children

Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award

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

Spirit Awards Data

First Awards: 1985 (28)