Peña Earns a Spirit Award Nomination

Michael Peña has the spirit

The 36-year-old Mexican American actor has received a Spirit Award nomination in the Best Supporting Male category for his work in the police drama End of Watch.

Michael Pena

Peña, who portrays Los Angeles police officer Mike Zavala in the film, will face off against Magic Mike’s Matthew McConaughey, Middle of Nowheres David Oyelowo, Seven PsychopathsSam Rockwell and Moonrise Kingdom’s Bruce Willis.

Meanwhile, Aurora Guerrero has been nominated for the John Cassavetes Award, which is given to a picture made for under $500,000. The Mexican American filmmaker earned the nod for writing and directing the film Mosquita y Mari.

Nominees for the Spirit Awards are determined by its “independence” based on guidelines that include uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter and they must be made for budgets up to $20 millions.

Winners of the 2013 Spirit Awards will be announced on February 23, during the annual awards luncheon taking place in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

The ceremony will be broadcast at 10:00 pm ET on IFC.

Here’s a complete look at the 2013 Spirit Award nominees:

Best Feature

  • Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Bernie
  • Keep the Lights On
  • Moonrise Kingdom
  • Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director

  • Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
  • David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
  • Julia Loktev- The Loneliest Planet
  • Ira Sachs – Keep the Lights On
  • Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Screenplay

  • Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
  • David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
  • Ira Sachs – Keep the Lights On
  • Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks
  • Martin McDonagh – Seven Psychopaths

Best First Feature

  • Fill the Void
  • Gimme the Loot
  • Safety Not Guaranteed
  • Sound of My Voice
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Best First Screenplay

  • Rama Burshtein – Fill the Void
  • Derek Connolly – Safety Not Guaranteed
  • Christopher Ford – Robot & Frank
  • Rashida Jones & Will McCormack – Celeste and Jesse Forever
  • Jonathan Lisecki – Gayby

John Cassavetes Award (given to best picture made for under $500K)

  • Breakfast with Curtis
  • Middle of Nowhere
  • Mosquita y Mari
  • Starlet
  • The Color Wheel

Best Female Lead

  • Linda Cardinelli – Return
  • Emayatzy Corinealdi – Middle of Nowhere
  • Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
  • Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Smashed

Best Male Lead

  • Jack Black – Bernie
  • Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
  • John Hawkes – The Sessions
  • Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe
  • Wendell Pierce – Four
  • Thure Lindhardt – Keep the Lights On

Best Supporting Female

  • Rosemarie DeWitt – Your Sister’s Sister
  • Ann Dowd – Compliance
  • Helen Hunt – The Sessions
  • Brit Marling – Sound of My Voice
  • Lorraine Toussant – Middle of Nowhere

Best Supporting Male

  • Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike
  • David Oyelowo – Middle of Nowhere
  • Michael Pena – End of Watch
  • Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths
  • Bruce Willis – Moonrise Kingdom

Best Cinematography

  • Yoni Brook – Valley of Saints
  • Lol Crawley – Here
  • Ben Richardson – Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Roman Vasyanov – End of Watch
  • Robert Yeoman – Moonrise Kingdom

Best Documentary

  • How to Survive a Plague
  • Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present
  • The Central Park Five
  • The Invisible War
  • The Waiting Room

Best International Film

  • Amour
  • Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
  • Rust and Bone
  • Sister
  • War Witch    

Piaget ProduPcers Award

  • Nobody Walks
  • Prince Avalanche
  • Stones in the Sun

Someone to Watch Award

  • Pincus
  • Gimme the Loot
  • Electrick Children

Truer Than Fiction Award

  • Leviathan
  • The Waiting Room
  • Only the Young

Robert Altman Award

  • Starlet