Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara’s romance “Carol” led Spirit Awards nominations with six, followed by “Beasts of No Nation” with five and “Spotlight,” “Tangerine” and “Anomalisa” with four each.
The noms for Film Independent’s 31st Spirit Awards were released on Tuesday morning.
In addition to its four nominations, “Spotlight” won the Robert Altman Award for its ensemble cast.
Best feature nominations went to the three leaders — “Carol,” “Spotlight” and “Beasts of No Nation” — along with Charlie Kaufman-Duke Johnson’s animated “Anomalisa” and Sean Baker’s “Tangerine.”
All five best features also received director nominations, along with David Robert Mitchell for “It Follows.” Cary Fukunaga was nommed for “Beasts of No Nation,” along with Kaufman and Johnson for “Anomalisa,” Baker for “Tangerine,” Todd Haynes for “Carol” and Tom McCarthy for “Spotlight.”
Blanchett and Mara each took nominations for “Carol” in the best female category, along with Bel Powley for “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” Brie Larson for “Room” and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez for “Tangerine.”
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Best male lead nominations went to Abraham Attah for “Beasts of No Nation,” Ben Mendelsohn for “Mississippi Grind,” Christopher Abbott for “James White,” Jason Segel for “The End of the Tour” and Koudous Seihon for “Mediterranea.”
Cynthia Nixon received a supporting actress nod for “James White,” along with Jennifer Jason Leigh for “Anomalisa,” Marin Ireland for “Glass Chin,” Mya Taylor for “Tangerine” and Robin Bartlett for “H.”
Idris Elba got a nom is the supporting actor category for “Beasts of No Nation,” along with Kevin Corrigan for “Results,” Michael Shannon for “99 Homes,” Paul Dano for “Love & Mercy” and Richard Jenkins for “Bone Tomahawk.”
Mara won the Best Actress Award at Cannes in May for her performance in “Carol.”
“Beasts of No Nation,” Netflix’s first move into original feature film making, also picked up a second nod for Fukunaga for cinematography.
“Room” picked up three nominations — female lead for Brie Larson, editing and best first screenplay. “James White” also received three nominations for male lead (Christopher Abbott), supporting female (Cynthia Nixon) and Best First Feature.
The winners will be announced on Feb. 27 — the day before the Academy Awards — in a tent on Santa Monica Beach.
The Film Independent website accidentally posted the nominees at 7:30 a.m. PT, several hours before the scheduled announcements at the W Hotel in Hollywood. When the mistake was discovered — it was supposed to be posted at 10:30 a.m. PT, but went out 10:30 Eastern time — the list was taken down after a few minutes.
Film Independent president John Walsh deadpanned at the ceremony that the organization is known for its commitment to diversity, uniqueness of vision, “aside from our amazing technical abilities.” He said the 43-person nominating committee had looked at 362 eligible films, and winners will be decided by FI members.
Walsh also said the Feb. 27 ceremonies will shift location slightly — still at Santa Monica beach, but now moving a little north of the pier.
The nominees were read by Elizabeth Olsen and John Boyega. The latter, who appears in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” said “There’s so much integrity in these nominations, I’ve got to stop doing big-budget films.”
Here are the 2016 Spirit Awards nominees:
Best Feature
Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
Spotlight
Tangerine
Best Director
Sean Baker, Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes, Carol
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, Anomalisa
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
David Robert Mitchell, It Follows
Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa
Donald Margulies, The End of the Tour
Phyllis Nagy, Carol
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, Spotlight
S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk
Best First Feature
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
James White
Manos Sucias
Mediterranea
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Best First Screenplay
Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jonas Carpignano, Mediterranea
Emma Donoghue, Room
Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, Myna Joseph, The Mend
Best Male Lead
Christopher Abbott, James White
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind
Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
Koudous Seihon, Mediterranea
Best Female Lead
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Rooney Mara, Carol
Bel Powley, The Diary of A Teenage Girl
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine
Best Supporting Male
Kevin Corrigan, Results
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Best Supporting Female
Robin Bartlett, H.
Marin Ireland, Glass Chin
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa
Cynthia Nixon, James White
Mya Taylor, Tangerine
Best Documentary
(T)error
Best of Enemies
Heart of a Dog
The Look of Silence
Meru
The Russian Woodpecker
Best International Film
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Embrace of the Serpent
Girlhood
Mustang
Son of Saul
Best Cinematography
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
It Follows
Meadlowland
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Best Editing
Heaven Knows What
It Follows
Manos Sucias
Room
Spotlight
John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000)
Advantageous
Christmas, Again
Heaven Knows What
Krisha
Out of My Hand
Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble)
Spotlight
Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award
Chloe Zhao
Felix Thompson
Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
Piaget Producers Award
Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn
Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith
