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Behn Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" has garnered four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. (Image courtesy of the Sundance Institute)
Eight Sundance-supported films and alumni have received nominations for the 85th Academy Awards that will take place this Sunday, Feb. 23. The ceremony will be aired locally on KTVX, CH. 4, begining at 6:30 p.m.

Leading the way with four nominations is Behn Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Zeitlin participated in the 2011 Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Directors Labs and the film was awarded the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Feature Film category.

"The eight Sundance Institute-supported films that are nominated for this year's Academy Awards show that independent voices are impacting our culture and being recognized as such," said Sundance Institute Executive Director Keri Putnam. "We are pleased to have been among the first to support these films and connect them with audiences, and we congratulate all for their many achievements leading up to this point."

The following is a list of the eight Sundance films and the nominations. All of the films, with the exception of "No," were screened during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. "No" was part of the 2013 event.

  • "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

    Best Picture

    Best Actress — Quvenzhané Wallis

    Best director — Behn Zeitlin

    Best adapted Screenplay — Lucy Alibar & Behn Zeitlin

  • "Chasing Ice"

    Best original song — "Before My Time," music and lyrics by J. Ralph

  • "How to Survive a Plague"

    Documentary Feature — filmmakers David France and Howard Gertler

  • "The Invisible War"

    Documentary Feature — filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering

  • "5 Broken Cameras"

    Documentary Feature — filmmakers Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

  • "The Gatekeepers"

    Documentary Feature — filmmakers Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon.

  • "Searching for Sugar Man"

    Documentary feature — filmmakers Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn

  • "Open Heart"

    Documentary Short — filmmakers Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern

  • "The Sessions"

    Best actress — Helen Hunt

  • "No" (Chile)

    Best Foreign film — filmmakers Pablo Larrain and Pedro Peirano

    Compiled by Scott Iwasaki