Gotham Independent Awards 2013 Nomination Predictions: 'Frances Ha,' '12 Years A Slave,' 'Short Term 12,' 'Inside Llewyn Davis' Among Top Contenders

The Gotham Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday.

The awards organization has specific requirements for films being nominated. Movies must be independent productions, American, feature length, have independent distribution and mist have been released theatrically in the last calendar year.

As a result, many of the most acclaimed films, such as "Blue is the Warmest Color" and "Philomena," will be disqualified because they are not considered American films. Other big budget releases such as "Her," "Labor Day," "Gravity," "American Hustle" and "Capitan Phillips" will also be disqualified because they are studio productions. However, the Gotham awards have surprised in recent years, nominating "The Departed" in 2006 for Best Feature, even though it was a studio film and was made for a $90 million budget.

This year the Gotham Awards has added Best Actress and Best Actor categories. Among the actresses who seem like guaranteed nominees are Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine," Brie Larson for "Short Term 12" and Julie Delpy for "Before Midnight."

In the Best Actor race some possibilities include Chiwetel Ejiofor for "12 Years a Slave," James Franco for "Spring Breakers," Michael B. Jordan for "Fruitvale Station" and Bruce Dern for "Nebraska."

Possible Best Cast Ensemble nominees include "August: Osage County," "Short Term 12," "12 Years A Slave" and "Inside Llewyn Davis."

The Breakthrough actor award could see Lupita Nyong'o from "12 Years A Slave," Oscar Issac for "Inside Llewyn Davis" and Dane Dehaan for "Kill Your Darlings" nominated.

Meanwhile, the Best Feature award could see "Frances Ha," "Short Term 12," "12 Years A Slave," "Before Midnight" and "All is Lost" nominated.

However, given the unpredictability of the organization it will most likely be a surprising list of nominees.

The Gotham Awards are some of the most prestigious awards for independent film. They recognize the best in independent film and are sometimes considered precursors for the awards season. Recent winners include "The Tree of Life," "Beginners," "Moonrise Kingdom" and "The Hurt Locker."