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‘Manchester by the Sea’ tops list of Sundance ’16 titles to take Oscar nominations

Six movies that played at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and one playing this week at the 2017 festival, received Academy Award nominations Tuesday morning.

The big haul was for Kenneth Lonergan's grief drama "Manchester by the Sea," which premiered at the festival last year and immediately prompted a bidding war that saw Amazon Studios paying a reported $10 million.

"Manchester by the Sea" received six nominations — Best Picture, Original Screenplay and Directing (both for Lonergan) and three acting nods: Casey Affleck for lead actor, Lucas Hedges for supporting actor and Michelle Williams for supporting actress.

Viggo Mortensen's performance as the dad of an off-the-grid family in "Captain Fantastic," another Sundance premiere, also got a Best Actor nomination.

"The Lobster," director Yorgos Lanthimos' surreal romantic comedy-drama set in a world in which singlehood gets one turned into an animal, was nominated for Original Screenplay. Lanthimos shares that nomination with co-writer Efthimis Filippou.

Two documentaries that debuted at Sundance will vie in the Documentary Feature category: "Life, Animated," about a family coping with their adult son's autism; and "O.J.: Made in America," a seven-hour look at the issues of race and celebrity surrounding the O.J. Simpson murder case.

Another documentary received an unusual nod. "Jim: The James Foley Story," a profile of the journalist who was taken hostage and executed by the so-called Islamic State group, picked up a nomination in the Original Song category for "The Empty Chair." The song's writers, Sting and J. Ralph, performed the song at the Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe last year.

The one movie on Sundance's 2017 slate to get a nomination Tuesday is "My Life as a Zucchini." The French/Swiss production, a stop-motion tale of an orphan boy finding friends in a foster home, was nominated in the Animated Feature category. It's playing in the festival's Kids section and screens again Saturday at 12:30 at the Redstone Cinema 1 in Park City.

| Courtesy Sundance Film Festival A still from the film "The Lobster" which will be part of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival lineup.

| Courtesy Sundance Film Festival A still from the film "Life, Animated" which will be part of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival lineup.

Courtesy | Sundance Institute A film still from "Jim: The James Foley Story”

Courtesy | Sundance Institute A film still from "O.J.: Made In America."

Courtesy | Sundance Institute A film still from "O.J.: Made In America."

Courtesy | Sundance Institute A film still from "O.J.: Made In America."

This image provided by courtesy of the Sundance institute shows, James Foley, second right, in the documentary film, "Jim: The James Foley Story," directed by Brian Oakes. The film is included in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. The festival runs Jan. 21-31. (Manu Brabo/Sundance Institute via AP)

J. Ralph, left, and Sting, co-writers of the song "The Empty Chair," pose together at the premiere of the documentary film "Jim" at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. The song is featured in the documentary film about slain photojournalist James Foley. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Sting, right, and J. Ralph, co-writers of the song "The Empty Chair," are interviewed at the premiere of the documentary film "Jim" at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. The song is featured in the documentary film about slain photojournalist James Foley. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Actor Viggo Mortensen is interviewed at the premiere of "Captain Fantastic" during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP)

Sting performs during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Sting performs during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Sting performs during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

This image released by Roadside Attractions shows Michelle Williams, left, and Casey Affleck in a scene from, "Manchester by the Sea," in theaters on November 18. (Claire Folger/Roadside Attractions via AP)

This image released by Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios shows Casey Affleck, left, with writer-director Kenneth Lonergan during the filming of "Manchester By The Sea." (Claire Folger/Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios via AP)

This image released by Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios shows Casey Affleck in a scene from "Manchester By The Sea." (Claire Folger/Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios via AP)

| courtesy Sundance Institute Zucchini is a 9-year-old sent to live in a foster home, in the Swiss/French stop-motion animated tale "My Life as a Zucchini." The movie will have its English-language world premiere in the Sundance Kids section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

This image released by Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios shows Lucas Hedges, right, and Casey Affleck in a scene from "Manchester By The Sea." The 74th annual Golden Globe nominations will be streamed live online, beginning at 8:10 a.m. EST. Among the films expected to take in a number of nods are Damien Chazelle’s nostalgic Los Angeles musical “La La Land,” Barry Jenkins’ lyrical coming-of-age tale “Moonlight,” Kenneth Lonergan’s New England drama “Manchester by the Sea.” (Claire Folger/Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios via AP)