‘Affliction’ Tops Spirit Nods; ‘High Art’ Is Second in Tally

“Affliction,” the searing drama starring Nick Nolte, scored big Thursday night when the Independent Feature Project, the nonprofit group dedicated to promoting American independent filmmakers, announced its nominees for the 14th annual Spirit Awards.

“Affliction,” directed by Paul Schrader, received six nominations, followed by “High Art” with five. “Gods and Monsters” and “The Opposite of Sex” came in with four nominations.

But some of the year’s most notable independent films, “Life Is Beautiful” and “Shakespeare in Love,” were left out of the nominations.

“Shakespeare,” which Miramax made in conjunction with Universal Pictures for $42 million, was too expensive to be considered, said Vondie Curtis Hall, a member of the voting committee.

“Life Is Beautiful,” an Italian film written, directed and starring Roberto Benigni, was edged out by one vote in the foreign film category, he said.

“It was right there to the last second,” Hall said. “Everybody loved that film, but I think people liked the other five maybe a bit more. It was tough.”

Besides “Affliction,” which was directed by Schrader, nominees for best feature film were: “Gods and Monsters” (Lions Gate) directed by Bill Condon; “Velvet Goldmine” (Miramax) directed by Todd Haynes; “A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries” (October Films) directed by James Ivory; and the as-yet unreleased “Claire Dolan,” directed by Lodge Kerrigan.

The nominations were a diverse bunch that included new talent alongside experienced filmmakers.

“It’s exciting to see new voices honored along with more established independent filmmakers such as Paul Schrader, Todd Haynes and Ismail Merchant, who have been honored in past Spirit Awards as well,” said Dawn Hudson, executive director of the IFP/West, the organization that presents the awards.

Indeed, Kerrigan, who received the IFP’s Someone to Watch grant four years ago, was nominated for best director this year. His film, “Claire Dolan,” does not have a distributor yet.

In addition to Kerrigan, the director nominees were: Wes Anderson for “Rushmore,” Haynes for “Velvet Goldmine,” Schrader for “Affliction” and Todd Solondz for “Happiness.”

The IFP’s nearly 8,500 members will now vote for the winners. That ceremony, which will be held March 20 under a tent on the beach at Santa Monica, will be broadcast live on the Independent Film Channel.

It is up to the film nomination committee to determine what qualifies as an independent film, but there are certain guidelines. A film must have been shown at a commercial theater in 1998 or have been played at one of six major film festivals in the United States and Canada.

Films like “The Baby Dance” and “Blind Faith,” which were shown on television, qualified because they were also viewed at film festivals in Seattle and at Sundance.

The film must also be within a moderate budget, even if it is backed by a major studio like Disney, as in the case of “Rushmore,” which was made for under $10 million. Other guidelines include an “original, provocative subject matter,” “uniqueness of vision” and “percentage of independent financing.”

The best female lead nominations went to: Katrin Cartlidge in “Claire Dolan,” Christina Ricci in “The Opposite of Sex,” Ally Sheedy in “High Art,” Robin Tunney in “Niagara, Niagara” and Alfre Woodard in “Down in the Delta.”

For best male lead, Nolte was nominated for “Affliction,” Dylan Baker for “Happiness,” Ian McKellen for “Gods and Monsters,” Sean Penn for “Hurlyburly” and Courtney B. Vance for “Blind Faith.”

For best supporting female lead, the nominees were: Stockard Channing in “The Baby Dance,” Patricia Clarkson in “High Art,” Lisa Kudrow in “The Opposite of Sex,” Lynn Redgrave in “Gods and Monsters” and Joely Richardson in “Under Heaven.”

In the best supporting male lead category, James Coburn was nominated for “Affliction” alongside Charles S. Dutton in “Blind Faith,” Gary Farmer in “Smoke Signals,” Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Happiness” and Bill Murray in “Rushmore.”

In the best first feature category, first-time directors were recognized. The nominations, which include the producers in addition to the directors, were: Vincent Gallo and Chris Hanley for “Buffalo 66”; Lisa Cholodenko, Dolly Hall, Jeff Levy-Hinte and Susan A. Stover for “High Art”; Don Roos, David Kirkpatrick and Michael Besman for “The Opposite of Sex”; Darren Aronofsky and Eric Watson for “Pi”; and Tamara Jenkins, Michael Nozik and Stan Wlodkowski for “Slums of Beverly Hills.”

In the best debut performance category, the nominees are Evan Adams for “Smoke Signals,” Anthony Roth Costanzo for “A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries,” Andrea Hart for “Miss Monday,” and both Sonja Sohn and Saul Williams for “Slam.”

For best screenplay, the nominees are Condon for “Gods and Monsters,” David Mamet for “The Spanish Prisoner,” Frank Military for “Blind Faith,” Roos for “The Opposite of Sex” and Schrader for “Affliction.”

First-time screenwriters were also nominated in the best first screenplay category: Darren Aronofsky for “Pi,” Sherman Alexie for “Smoke Signals,” Cholodenko for “High Art,” Tamara Jenkins for “Slums of Beverly Hills” and Matthew Weiss for “Niagara, Niagara.”

In the best cinematography category, the nominees were: Maryse Alberti for “Velvet Goldmine,” Matthew Libatique for “Pi,” Tami Reiker for “High Art,” Paul Sarossy for “Affliction” and Malik Sayeed for “Belly.”

Nominations for best foreign film went to Denmark’s “The Celebration”; Japan’s “The Eel” and “Fireworks Hana-Bi”; Ireland’s “The General”; and Brazil’s “Central Station.”