'12 Years a Slave' leads Gotham Awards nominations with 3

The Gotham Independent Film Awards announced their nominations Thursday to kick off the awards season and "12 Years a Slave" led the field, with the film racking up three noms including best feature.

Directed by Steve McQueen, the film's star Chiwetel Ejiofor was nominated for best actor and Lupita Nyong'o earned a breakthrough actor nom.

"Inside Llewyn Davis" and "Upstream Color" each got two nods, including best feature nominations for both films.

The Gotham Awards are generally seen as the beginning of the awards season, and winners will be announced on Dec. 2.