Congrats to the Indie Spirit Nominees!!!

Drumroll. And the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominees are…

by MATT WARREN    

The past couple months of entertainment news have not been the cheeriest, to say the least. But as the necessary work of righting longstanding injustices continues, the importance of elevating new and diverse voices inside the film industry remains. And while awards shows may seem like small potatoes in the face of larger global events, the fact remains: championing creative independence and supporting a diverse community of unique, innovative artists remains vitally important—sowing the seeds via pop culture of a better, more equitable future.

So! With that in mind, we’re honored to announce our nominees for the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards, unveiled this morning at The Jeremy hotel in West Hollywood by presenters Lily Collins (To the Bone, Okja, Rules Don’t Apply) and Tessa Thompson (Dear White People, Creed, Thor: Ragnarok). Once again, this year’s Spirit Award nominees represent a true uniqueness of vision and innovation in visual storytelling. They are:

BEST FEATURE

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

PRODUCERS: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodgrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory, Howard Rosenman

THE FLORIDA PROJECT

PRODUCERS: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou

GET OUT

PRODUCERS: Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele

LADY BIRD

PRODUCERS: Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill, Scott Rudin

THE RIDER

PRODUCERS: Mollye Asher, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Harroche, Chloé Zhao

(Award given to the producer)

BEST FIRST FEATURE

COLUMBUS

DIRECTOR: Kogonada

PRODUCERS: Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Aaron Boyd, Giulia Caruso, Ki Jin Kim, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz

INGRID GOES WEST

DIRECTOR: Matt Spicer

PRODUCERS: Jared Goldman, Adam Mirels, Robert Mirels, Aubrey Plaza, Tim White, Trevor White

MENASHE

DIRECTOR: Joshua Z. Weinstein

PRODUCERS: Yoni Brook, Traci Carlson, Daniel Finkelman, Alex Lipschultz

OH LUCY!

DIRECTOR: Atsuko Hirayanagi

PRODUCERS: Jessica Elbaum, Yukie Kito, Han West

PATTI CAKE$

DIRECTOR: Geremy Jasper

PRODUCERS: Chris Columbus, Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Noah Stahl, Rodrigo Teixeira

(Award given to the producer and director)

BEST DIRECTOR

Sean Baker, The Florida Project

Jonas Carpignano, A Ciambra

Luca Guadagnino, Call Me by Your Name

Jordan Peele, Get Out

Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Good Time

Chloé Zhao, The Rider

BEST SCREENPLAY

Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird

Azazel Jacobs, The Lovers

Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Jordan Peele, Get Out

Mike White, Beatriz at Dinner

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Kris Avedisian, Kyle Espeleta (story by), Jesse Wakeman (story by), Donald Cried

Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick

Ingrid Jungermann, Women Who Kill

Kogonada, Columbus

David Smith, Matt Spicer, Ingrid Goes West

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

DAYVEON

WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Amman Abbasi

WRITER: Steven Reneau

PRODUCERS: Lachion Buckingham, Alexander Uhlmann

A GHOST STORY

WRITER/DIRECTOR: David Lowery

PRODUCERS: Adam Donaghey, Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston

LIFE AND NOTHING MORE

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Antonio Méndez Esparza

PRODUCERS: Amadeo Hernández Bueno, Alvaro Portanet Hernández, Pedro Hernández Santos

MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND

WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ana Asensio

PRODUCERS: Larry Fessenden, Noah Greenberg, Chadd Harbold, Jenn Wexler

THE TRANSFIGURATION

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Michael O’Shea

PRODUCER: Susan Leber

(Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000; given to the writer, director and producer)

BEST MALE LEAD

Harris Dickinson, Beach Rats

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name

Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

Robert Pattinson, Good Time

James Franco, The Disaster Artist

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Salma Hayek, Beatriz at Dinner

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Margot Robbie, I, Tonya

Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

Regina Williams, Life and Nothing More

Shinobu Terajima, Oh Lucy!

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Nnamdi Asomugha, Crown Heights

Armie Hammer, Call Me by Your Name

Barry Keoghan, The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Benny Safdie, Good Time

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Holly Hunter, The Big Sick

Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Lois Smith, Marjorie Prime

Taliah Lennice Webster, Good Time

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Thimios Bakatakis, The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Elisha Christian, Columbus

Hélène Louvart, Beach Rats

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me by Your Name

Joshua James Richards, The Rider

BEST EDITING

Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Good Time

Walter Fasano, Call Me by Your Name

Alex O’Flinn, The Rider

Gregory Plotkin, Get Out

Tatiana S. Riegel, I, Tonya

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) (France)

DIRECTOR: Robin Campillo

A FANTASTIC WOMAN (Chile)

DIRECTOR: Sebastián Lelio

I AM NOT A WITCH (UK)

DIRECTOR: Rungano Nyoni

LADY MACBETH (UK)

DIRECTOR: William Oldroyd

LOVELESS (Russia)

DIRECTOR: Andrey Zvyagintsev

BEST DOCUMENTARY

THE DEPARTURE

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Lana Wilson

FACES PLACES

DIRECTORS: Agnés Varda, JR

PRODUCER: Rosalie Varda

LAST MEN IN ALEPPO

DIRECTOR: Feras Fayyad

PRODUCERS: Kareem Abeed, Steen Jespersen, Stefan Kloos

MOTHERLAND

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ramona S. Diaz

PRODUCER: Rey Cuerdo

QUEST

DIRECTOR: Jonathan Olshefski

PRODUCER: Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

(Award given to the director and producer)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

MUDBOUND

DIRECTOR: Dee Rees

CASTING DIRECTORS: Billy Hopkins, Ashley Ingram

ENSEMBLE CAST: Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan

(Award given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)

JEEP TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

 

THE CAGE FIGHTER

DIRECTOR: Jeff Unay

DISTANT CONSTELLATION           

DIRECTOR: Shevaun Mizrahi

QUEST

DIRECTOR: Jonathan Olshefski

(The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 23rd year, 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 sponsored by the Jeep brand.) 

KIEHL’s SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

DAYVEON

DIRECTOR: Amman Abbasi

GOOK          

DIRECTOR: Justin Chon

SUPER DARK TIMES  

DIRECTOR: Kevin Phillips

(The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 24th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851.)

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD

          

Giulia Caruso & Ki Jin Kim

Ben LeClair

Summer Shelton

(The Producers Award, now in its 21st year, honors 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 sponsored by Piaget.)

AMERICAN AIRLINES BONNIE AWARD

               

So Yong Kim

Lynn Shelton

Chloé Zhao

(Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the inaugural Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.)

But before you start filling out your awards ballot and planning your March 3 viewing party, it’s time for you to help determine this year’s winners.

Members of Film Independent who join by December 7 will enjoy all that our awards-season Membership privileges have to offer, including screeners of select nominated films and access to free theatrical screenings of ALL nominated films in Los Angeles (and don’t worry if you miss the December deadline—screenings and voting are open to all new Members joining before January 19.) Click here for more info. And for information on how to actually attend the Spirit Awards, click here.

The 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards happen Saturday, March 3 on the beach in Santa Monica and will be broadcast live on IFC at 2p/5e with returning hosts Nick Kroll and John Mulaney.

DIY Film Distribution

One of the biggest questions we get at the DIY Film Fest is "How can I get my film distributed?"

Believing in the do it yourself philosophy, doesn't mean that you can't make a living doing it yourself.  And part of making a living is making sure that your film gets in front of your audience.

But here are a few tried and true methods of self distribution.

1. Use a distribution platform to sell your film.   At the DIY Film Fest we're happy to be sponsored by FilmHub (formerly Kinonation) a successful digital film distribution company.   The process is fairly simple; once you've finished your film and are looking for distribution, you sign up with their film company at Film Hub and follow their instructions on how to upload your film.  They do the rest.

(One of the perks of our film festival is that the winners of each category are invited to distribute their film through FilmHub to their various entities that they sell the film through (saving the filmmaker the time and effort to try and contact each of those companies individually).

2. Use a direct distribution entity like Amazon.com.   Amazon places your film on their searchable site, and it's easy to link your blog or your film to their company.  They insist that films a subtitle track so that they can have them subtitle (or use one of their subtitling bots) but it's a way of offering a film worldwide.  They have a minimum for how much it costs to view the film, and generally they set the film's price.  But it's a way of submitting your film for direct distribution. (The amount of money your receive would be higher than going through an aggregator like Film Hub, but again, it might be easier to have one entity distribute it across all platforms.)

3. Youtube Filmmaker's account.  If you have at least 1000 subscriber's to your youtube account, you can charge a fee for people to view your content. Once you've attained the magic number of 1000 subscribers, you can offer you content worldwide and charge any fee that you think the market will bear for your film. 

4. Adsense. If you've signed up for adsense through Youtube, and are approved, you make money based on how many views (or minutes) people view your content. The move views you receive, the higher your paycheck.

4. Vimeo on Demand.  Vimeo is now offering to allow filmmakers to sell their content online for a $20 per month fee. The advantage here is that the first month is free, and while you're building viewership, you can also be putting up clips or trailers on your filmmaker account at youtube, vimeo and other places.

5. Itunes. Follow this link for a list of all the aggregators who work with Itunes. (And you'll find FilmHub as well.)  Itunes insists that their aggregators process your video and follow their guidelines, so if you want your content on itunes, you have to use an aggegator.  

The second most important item to focus on in your search for DIY distribution, is marketing and promotion.  If you can afford a promoter or marketer that you trust, that's the easiest way to go, as they will know the ins and outs of the marekt you're trying to crack.  But if you want to be a DIY promotion and marketing exec yourself - then the best way to do that is to research the field.

Look up other films that you might have paid attention to, or that you think are similar to yours.  See what kinds of methods others have used in social media.  We assume that by the time you're going into distribution, you've already exhausted the film festival route, but perhaps your title is so unique that it needs to be seen directly by the audience its intended for.

Find out where that audience is.  Is it online?  Is it part of a community? Is it something that you could advertise in a college newspaper, or in some other outlet that reaches your target audience?  (One filmmaker we know said "Most of my titles only play in prison, so it's hard to market that audience.  But I'm happy to know that they're trapped somewhere being forced to watch it."  We hope he was kidding.)

We live in a world where you can sell directly to your audience - you can market things directly to those people who would like to see them.  It's a matter of figuring out where your audience might be, and how to reach them.  It's best done in the hands of professionals, but if you're not financially able to reach out to those individuals, then the only thing you must rely on in your own intuition and ability to wave the flag for your film.

When all is said and done, no one cares more about your film than you do.  (Hopefully) So that makes you the best candidate to see it across the finish line.

And don't forget to thank us in your Oscar speech.

-- The DIY Film Fest team.