The awards season is “officially” under way today as the first awards show of the season has announced its list of nominees. The Gotham Independent Film Awards are typically good for establishing certain independent films in the race early on, films that hope to maintain a profile throughout the season as the bigger titles do battle. Beneficiaries of Gotham recognition have included “Beginners,” “The Tree of Life,” “The Descendants,” “Winter’s Bone,” “Black Swan,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “The Hurt Locker” and “A Serious Man” in recent years.

The 22nd annual slate could prove helpful to a film like Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” which picked up two nominations including Best Feature, as the film looks to turn summer release goodwill into a Best Picture Oscar nomination. (It landed on DVD/Blu-ray yesterday, which also helps.) Richard Linklater’s “Bernie,” meanwhile, also nominated for Best Feature, can ride an early wave like this and perhaps more voters will put in the screener and give it a look. This after Millennium Entertainment brought Linklater and star Jack Black to New York and Los Angeles for a few soirées to get the engine humming.

Another film that can ride this early tide nicely is “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” It was passed over in the Best Feature field but still managed two nods in the breakthrough categories (director Benh Zeitlin and actress Quevenzhané Wallis). “Silver Linings Playbook” also managed to be recognized, in the Best Ensemble category.

And still other films, like “The Sessions” or particularly “Arbitrage,” really could have used some attention here. Alas, they were snubbed.

Filling out the Best Feature field was “The Loneliest Planet,” “The Master” (its only nod) and “Middle of Nowhere.”

Check out the full list of nominees below. The 22nd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards will be held on November 26 at Cipriani in New York.

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

Best Documentary
“Detropia”
“How to Survive a Plague”
“Marina Abramavi?: The Artist is Present”
“Room 237”
“The Waiting Room”

Best Ensemble Performance
“Bernie”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Safety Not Guaranteed”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Your Sister’s Sister”

Breakthrough Director
Antonio Méndez Esparza, “Aquí y Allá (Here and There)”
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Brian M. Cassidey, Melanie Shatzky, “Francine”
Jason Corlund, Julia Halperin, “Now, Forager”
Zal Batmanglij, “Sound of My Voice”

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

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
“Kid-Thing”
“An Oversimplification of Her Beauty”
“Red Flag”
“Sun Don’t Shine”
“Tiger Tall in Blue”