Spirit Awards: Which films lead the nominations?

The awards season is in full swing, prior to the big date at the Dolby Theater for the Oscar ceremony, we find the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which recognize the best of independent cinema. The ceremony will be held on March 6, so we bring you an overview of the most nominated productions.

The Spirit Awards, the best of independent cinema Independent

Independent cinema is not synonymous with poor quality or precisely low budget, at least when compared to the Latin American film industry. What is needed for a nomination Spirit Award? The main requirement is to have a maximum budget of 22.5 million dollars, which for Hollywood parameters is low, although for our region it would be one of the highest. To put it in perspective, “Roma” (Alfonso Cuarón), winner of the Spirit Award for Best International Film in 2018, has the record for the highest budget in the history of Mexican cinema with a cost of just 15 million dollars.

Thus, films such as “Pulp Fiction”, “Fargo”, The tiger and the dragon”, “Juno”, “The Artist”, “Roma”, “Birdman”, “Precious”, “Black Swan” and “Brokeback Mountain”, among many others, have won the highest award, which have managed to overcome the adjective of independents to become industry hits and, in some cases, true classics of contemporary cinema.

“The Lost Daughter”

For this edition the viewer will find interesting proposals, one of them is “The Lost Daughter”, a film with 5 nominations that marks the directorial debut of Maggie Gyllenhaal, who also serves as a screenwriter. The story deals with the vacations of a woman who becomes obsessed with a girl who mysteriously disappears, this moves the experiences of her life, so the film has a deep psychological meaning that traps the viewer.

There are other aspects to highlight about this film, the first is that it is a Netflix production. The streaming service continues to bet heavily on content that transcends the awards and with this film it points towards next year’s Oscars. The film is a literary adaptation that features performances by the renowned Olivia Colman, Peter Sarsgaard and Ed Harris.

Read also: Oscars 2022: Teenage Love at Licorice Pizza

“A Chiara”

In full swing over the Russian-Ukrainian conflict “A Chiara” is a pertinent film that, although it does not directly deal with an international war conflict, does deal from an almost documentary point of view with the European social situation between migration, racism, poverty, organized crime and violence that generate conditions as dark as war. In this film, the story follows the young Chiara who leads an almost normal life until the violence of the mafia, of which her family is a part, reaches her. With this proposal, “A Chiara” is nominated for Best Film at this ceremony.

“C’mon C’mon”

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, this black and white film takes us on a journey of self-knowledge and reflection that has become one of the favorites at the awards. The story tells us the journey of a documentary filmmaker who produces a work about genius children, in this exploration he will forever transform the relationship with his nephew. For this edition it has three of the most important nominations: Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Mike Mills.

“Zola”

Got stuck reading an interesting Twitter that you just can’t stop reading? That’s how “Zola” was born, a disturbing story that went from the internet to the cinema and captivated everyone for its dark comedy. It tells us the details of the journey of Zola, a waitress who finds herself in all kinds of problems that she ingeniously transfers to the social network. This magnetism that made it viral has given it a nomination for Best Picture.

“The Novice”

If we could describe it in one word it would be “obsession”, in this film everything revolves around it. Alex is a young woman who has no mental or physical limitations to fight obsessively for her interest in rowing, the curious thing about the format is that it is not a film about sports and it does not follow the classic motivational format. On the contrary, it becomes a dark thriller that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat.

The presence of Latin America

Finally, it is worth mentioning that “Zola”‘s director, Janicza Bravo, an African-American of Panamanian descent is nominated for Best Director. In addition, the Mexican film “Noche de fuego”, by Salvadoran director Tatiana Huezo, is nominated for Best International Film. The film narrates the journey of three young people who must face what it means to be a woman in a land of violence: survival. This film was Mexico’s candidate for the Oscars, although it did not reach the nomination, meanwhile at the Spirit Awards it has the opportunity to give the country its third award, which would also be the fifth for Latin America.