Indie film group unveils Gotham award nominees

Two movies with different views of the modern American family led nominees for the independent film world's Gotham Awards on Monday with "Winter's Bone" collecting three nods including best breakthrough actor for Jennifer Lawrence.

"Winter's Bone," which follows a teenage girl as she searches for her father amid a secretive community in rural Arkansas, picked up three nominations overall, including best film and best ensemble performance for Lawrence and co-stars such as John Hawkes, Dale Dickey, Lauren Sweetser, and others.

"The Kids Are All Right" picked up two nominations, best film and ensemble cast, with its comedic tale of two lesbian parents whose children were conceived by artificial insemination and who want a relationship with their father. It stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as the mothers.

Another film, "Tiny Furniture," also pulled in two nominations for breakthrough director, Lena Dunham, and for its ensemble cast that includes Dunham, Laurie Simmons and others.

The Gotham Awards are given out each year by the New York-based Independent Filmmaker Project, an organization that supports and promotes mostly low-budget movies that are funded and produced outside Hollywood's major studios.

Movies and performances singled out at the Gotham awards are often similar to those nominated for Independent Spirit Awards, another set of key set of honors for indie movies that is organized by Los Angeles-based group, Film Independent.

The Gothams and Spirits focus on low-budget movies, some of which will compete for more prestigious awards such as the Oscars. Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right," for one, is being talked about as a possible Oscar contender.

Other Gotham nominations for best film went to "Black Swan," director Darren Aronofsky's tale of a ballerina (Natalie Portman) who looks to sabotage a rival, and "Blue Valentine," which stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a married couple whose relationship is unraveling. Rounding out the list of five best film nominees is thriller "Let Me In."

"Life During Wartime" and "Please Give" joined "Winter's Bone," "The Kids Are All Right" and "Tiny Furniture" among nominees for best ensemble cast.

Movies competing for the award for "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You" were "Kati with an i," "Littlerock," "On Coal River," "Summer Pasture" and "The Wolf Knife.