The independent film community recognized Jordan Peele‘s hit thriller, "Get Out" and other movies from creators of color with Film Independent Spirit Award nominations yesterday (November 21).
Actresses Tessa Thompson ("Thor: Ragnarok") and Lily Collins ("Okja") announced the nominees during a livestreamed event.
"Get Out" earned a total of five nominations, including one in the "Best Feature" group. Peele received two of the five nods for "Best Director" and "Best Screenplay." The remaining two went to actor Daniel Kaluuya for "Best Male Lead," for which he is the only contender of color, and Gregory Plotkin for "Best Editing."
"Get Out" tied with "Good Time" for the second-highest number of nominations. Only "Call Me By Your Name" garnered more, with six.
Several other projects from filmmakers of color scored nominations, including:
- "Dayveon," a film by Pakistani-American director and writer Amman Abbasi ("Shelter") about a Black teenage boy (portrayed by first-time actor Devin Blackmon) escaping violence in his rural Arkansas community, for the John Cassavetes Award, which honors films made with a budget of $500,000 or less
- Regina Williams ("Life and Nothing More"), Salma Hayek ("Beatriz at Dinner") and Shinobu Terajima ("Oh, Lucy") for "Best Female Lead"
In addition, the ensemble cast of "Mudbound," the new feature film from Dee Rees ("Pariah") that addresses how Black World War II veterans confronted racism upon their return from service, won the Robert Altman Award ahead of the ceremony.
Film Independent, the nonprofit independent cinema organization responsible for the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, authorizes a committee of movie industry stakeholders to select each year’s nominees. Per Film Independent’s submission guidelines, eligible films must have budgets less than $20 million.
The organization also selects an honorary chair to oversee every ceremony. Ava DuVernay ("A Wrinkle in Time") will serve as this year’s chair.