Talent-ed filmmaker Andrew Wagner breaks on through with IFP (Photo: Backstage)

So I have been pretty hard here on IFP and its estranged L.A. counterpart Film Independent, both of whom have gone out of their ways in recent months to accommodate the major studios' lunges at credibility boutique indie labels. Now that IFP's 2005 Gotham Awards nominations are out there, I have to say: Despite the inclusion of more of the same relatively large-budget flicks that you will see again come Oscar time (Brokeback Mountain, Capote), I am overjoyed at the cosmic justice that shines a spotlight on two of this year's best truly independent films.

To see IFP recognize Andrew Wagner for his The Talent Given Us--still hands-down the best thing I have seen all year--is to restore a goose-bump-worthy rush of faith in the whole process. Shot on the road with a five-figure budget, a crew of two and his parents, sisters and friends playing themselves, Wagner's withering comedy deconstructs everything from the idea of the nuclear family to the narrative line separating fact and fiction. Moreover, on the strength of word-of-mouth and a succession of critical raves, Wagner has been self-distributing this film around America since June.

Now he is among five filmmakers nominated for Breakthrough Director, joining folks like Bennett Miller, Miranda July and Phil Morrison--all backed in essence by multi-billion-dollar conglomerates. I mean, I understand that the inclusion of larger films in this whole arrangement only underscores the magnitude of Wagner's accomplishment (as well as that of Brooklyn's Alice Wu, who also earned a nod for her own triumphant debut, Saving Face.) But if this recognition actually helps earn The Talent Given Us a distributor and the wider audience that Wagner and his film deserve, then hey--I will be first in line to tip my hat to IFP for getting it right.

Wagner, an NYC-to-L.A. transplant who is town working on his upcoming feature for Gary Winick's InDigEnt venture, was stunned to hear about the nominations. "I am profoundly honored to be recognized alongside filmmakers who have made such memorable films," he replied in an e-mail to The Reeler. "It is especially meaningful to me that the Gotham Awards are a celebration of films that prize the humanity of its characters and the personal vision of filmmakers. I also want to thank my mother and father, not only for their love and support along the way, but for agreeing to be in my film and for their incredibly brave performances."

A few encouraging nominations also went to Lodge Kerrigan's Keane, another tiny masterpiece that did have a distributor in Magnolia Pictures but nevertheless struggled theatrically. The film collected nods for Best Feature as well as Breakthrough Actor, an appropriate consideration to say the least for Damian Lewis' tormented performance as the mentally ill title character searching for his missing daughter. I also tracked Kerrigan down to get his impressions: "I'm very happy for everyone who worked on Keane," he said. Well, really, though--who is not?

Anyway, the Gothams fire up on Nov. 30 at Chelsea Piers. You know who I have my money on.