Lav Diaz's ‘Norte’ nominated in Independent Spirit Awards

LOS ANGELES - The film "Norte, the End of History" by Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz was nominated in the Best International Film category of the Independent Spirit Awards on Tuesday.

The Independent Spirit Awards bestows awards on the best achievements in independent film.

The other nominees in the category are:

• Force Majeure (Sweden), directed by Ruben Östlund
• Ida (Poland), directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
• Leviathan (Russia), directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev
• Mommy (Canada), directed by Xavier Dolan, and
• Under the Skin (United Kingdom), directed by Jonathan Glazer.

The Spirit Awards will be held at a casual luncheon on California's Santa Monica beach on Feb. 21, 2015, a day before Hollywood's glitzy Oscars ceremony.

The award recipients are often an indicator of Academy Award winners, with slavery drama "12 Years a Slave" taking top honors at both the Spirit Awards and Oscars this year.

Meanwhile, existential black comedy "Birdman" led the nominees on Tuesday, as thriller "Nightcrawler," coming-of-age chronicle "Boyhood" and civil rights drama "Selma" followed with five nods each.

"Birdman," which follows the journey of a washed-up actor as he embarks on a theater comeback, scored a Best Actor nod for Michael Keaton, Best Supporting Actor and Actress for Edward Norton and Emma Stone and Best Director for Alejandro G. Inarritu.

Fox Searchlight's "Birdman" joined four other contenders, IFC Films' "Boyhood," Paramount Pictures' "Selma" and Sony Pictures Classics films "Whiplash" and "Love Is Strange," for the coveted top prize for Best Feature.

Jazz drumming drama "Whiplash," which won the top honor at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and has garnered awards buzz, landed four nominations, including Best Director for Damien Chazelle and Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons.

Keaton will be up against "Nightcrawler" star Jake Gyllenhaal, "Jimi: All Is by My Side" singer-actor Andre Benjamin, John Lithgow in "Love Is Strange" and "Selma" actor David Oyelowo.

In the Best Actress race, "The Immigrant" star Marion Cotillard will face Julianne Moore for "Still Alice," comedian Jenny Slate for "Obvious Child," Tilda Swinton for "Only Lovers Left Alive" and Rinko Kikuchi for "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter."

Best Documentary nominees include Laura Poitras' Edward Snowden film "Citizenfour," Congo environmental film "Virunga," American Heartland narrative "Stray Dog," "20,000 Days on Earth," about singer Nick Cave; and "The Salt of the Earth," about photographer Sebastiao Salgado.

"Foxcatcher," which has earned Oscar buzz for its stars Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo and director Bennett Miller, and Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice" were not eligible for individual nominations, award organizers said. — Reuters