Here are this year's nominees for the Gotham Independent Film Awards

Movie awards season, that heady time of the year culminating in the Oscars, begins in earnest tonight when the Gotham Independent Film Awards are handed out at Cipriani Wall Street.

The movies honored at the Gothams, which are doled out by the Independent Filmmaker Project and celebrate the best in indie filmmaking, aren't necessarily the same ones that will be feted at the Academy Awards.

But if you're a fan of quality movies that aren't the Hollywood norm and you're wondering what you've missed from 2012, take note of these nominees:

Best Feature
"Bernie"
"The Loneliest Planet"
"The Master"
"Middle of Nowhere"
"Moonrise Kingdom"

Best Actor
Mike Birbiglia, "Sleepwalk with Me"
Emayatzy Corinealdi, "Middle of Nowhere"
Thure Lindhardt, "Keep the Lights On"
Melanie Lynskey, "Hello I Must Be Going"
Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Documentary
"Detropia"
"How to Survive a Plague"
"Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present"
"Room 237"
"The Waiting Room"

Best Director
Zal Batmanglij, "Sound of My Voice"
Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, "Francine"
Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin, "Now, Forager"
Antonio Méndez Esparza, "Aquí y Allá"
Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"