Let the games begin. The Oscar season is under way with the first precursor noms and awards coming out. The Gotham awards just concluded and the Independent Spirit just came out(on November 27) with their list of nominations. As some members at NG will know, I consider myself a sort of a sephologist in predicting Oscar noms and awards. While I hardly get to watch any of the films(as they release in India, if at all, by the following mid-year), I still take pride in the fact that I read up all there is to on global cinema and Hollywood especially and gauge the traction of a said film, director, actor, etc. I shall have my first predictions at a later time.

But it’s time to rejoice. Irrfan Khan has bagged an Indie Spirit nom for his work in The Namesake, as has the Telugu film Vanaja. Here are the Indie noms-

Best Picture

• The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
• I’m Not There
• Juno
• A Mighty Heart
• Paranoid Park

Best Director

• Todd Haynes (I’m Not There)
• Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)
• Jason Reitman (Juno)
• Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell And The Butterfly)
• Gus Van Sant (Paranoid Park)

Best First Feature

• 2 Days In Paris
• Great World Of Sound
• The Lookout
• Rocket Science
• Vanaja

Best Actor

• Pedro Castaneda (August Evening)
• Don Cheadle (Talk To Me)
• Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages)
• Frank Langella (Starting Out In The Evening)
• Tony Leung (Lust, Caution)

Best Actress

• Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
• Sienna Miller (Interview)
• Ellen Page (Juno)
• Parker Posey (Broken English)
• Tang Wei (Lust, Caution)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Chiwetel Ejiofor (Talk To Me)
• Marcus Carl Franklin (I’m Not There)
• Kene Holliday (Great World Of Sound)
• Irrfan Khan (The Namesake)
• Steve Zahn (Rescue Dawn)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There)
• Anna Kendrick (Rocket Science)
• Jennifer Jason Leigh (Margot At The Wedding)
• Tamara Podemski (Four Sheets To The Wind)
• Marisa Tomei (Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead)

Best Screenplay

• Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell And The Butterfly)
• Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)
• Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner (Starting Out In The Evening)
• Adrienne Shelly (Waitress)
• Mike White (Year Of The Dog)

Best Foreign Film

• 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days (Romania)
• The Band’s Visit (Israel)
• Lady Chatterley (France)
• Once (Ireland)
• Persepolis (France)

I’ve heard great things about I’m Not There- a bizarre bio-pic on Bob Dylan(with different actors and actresses playing Bob through his stages in life), Juno, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead and Once. The Romanian film by the way, is the main feature at this year’s IFFI.

 Here are the Gotham awards nominees(winners in bold)-

Best Picture

• Great World Of Sound
• I’m Not There
• Into The Wild
• Margot At The Wedding
• The Namesake

Best Director

• Lee Isaac Chung (Munyurangabo)
• Stephane Gauger (Owl And The Sparrow)
• Julia Loktev (Day Night Day Night)
• David Von Ancken (Seraphim Falls)
• Craig Zobel (Great World Of Sound)

Best Performance (Male/Female)

• Emile Hirsch (Into The Wild)
• Kene Holliday (Great World Of Sound)
• Ellen Page (Juno)
• Jess Weixler (Teeth)
• Luisa Williams (Day Night Day Night)

Best Ensemble

• Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
• The Last Winter
• Margot At The Wedding
• The Savages
• Talk To Me