Lav Diaz's 'Norte' gets nod at Indie Spirit Awards

MANILA, Philippines – Lav Diaz's “Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan” is nominated in the Best International Film category of 30th Independent Spirit Awards.

The film with the international title: “Norte, End of History” will compete with six movies for the award namely: Sweden's “Force Majeure,” Poland's “Ida,” Canada's “Mommy,” Russia's “Leviathan,” and United Kingdom's “Under the Skin.”

“Norte” is the Philippines' entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards next year.

The four-hour film stars Sid Lucero, Angeli Bayani and Archie Alemania and is co-written by Diaz and Rody Vera.

It was shown in the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and was part of the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

The Indie Spirit Awards is considered as a likely preview of possible contenders in the Oscars.

Meanwhile, "Birdman," a dark comedy about show business, led the pack at the Indie Spirit Awards with six nominations.

Star Michael Keaton and director Alejandro González Iñárritu picked up nominations for the film from Fox Searchlight.

Nods also went to its supporting actors Emma Stone and Edward Norton and to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki.

Collecting five nominations each were the coming-of-age drama "Boyhood," the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic "Selma," and the noir thriller "Nightcrawler."

Other films recognized in the best feature category included "Whiplash" and "Love is Strange," both of which received four nominations.

Last year, the Spirit Awards winners matched the Academy Awards winners in several top categories, including best picture ("12 Years a Slave"), best actor (Matthew McConaughey for "Dallas Buyers Club"), and best actress (Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine").

Winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony on Feb. 21. 2015, a day before the Academy Awards. - with a report from the Associated Press