This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 13, 2009 - The end of the year is rapidly approaching (but not the end of the decade, so will all you impatient calendar-watchers please quit with the "best of decade" list-making already?) and the first batch of winners in awards season has just been released. The National Board of Review has released its selection of the best films of 2009, topped by local attraction "Up in the Air."
Also announced this week were the nominations for the 25th Independent Spirit Award, with "Precious" and "The Last Station" dominating the list (which can be seen here ). Winners will be announced at the award ceremony on March 5, two days before the Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, the Gotham Independent Film Awards went ahead and gave their awards on Nov. 30, with Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" coming out on top. (You won't find it on the Independent Spirit list, because it was nominated it last year.) You can find the list of winners on Gotham's overly busy website .
The Lens is provided by Cinema St. Louis.