Several of the movies screened at the Austin Film Festival made a big splash when Film Independent announced its 2007 Spirit Awards Nominees yesterday in Los Angeles.

Festival hit and winner of both the Jury and Audience awards, Chalk, was nominated for the John Cassevetes Award. The highly-improvised mockumentary about high school teachers was filmed here in Austin and its recognition is another feather in the cap of the local film scene.

Raymond J. Barry received a nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for his superb work in Steel City, another AFF competition film.

Of course, the hallmark of AFF is its focus on the unsung heroes, the screenwriters. It is fitting, then, that Dito Montiel was nominated for Best First Screenplay for his film A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.

Richard Wong, director (DP, editor and produer) of Colma: The Musical who was nominated for the IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award.

Finally, Argentina’s Chronicle of An Escape, directed by Israel Adrián Caetano, was nominated for Best Foreign Film.

Kudos to the nominees and to AFF. The recognition by The Spirit Awards serves as further proof that AFF continues to program and promote work of the highest caliber, and for that, we should all be thankful.