Lance Hammer‘s “Ballast” led the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Award nominations, which were announced this morning by IFP.  “Ballast” garnered four nods, including Best Feature, Best Ensemble Performance, Best Breakthrough Director, and Best Breakthrough Actor. The other films feted for Best Feature were Courtney Hunt‘s “Frozen River,” Charlie Kaufman‘s “Synecdoche, New York,” Tom McCarthy‘s “The Visitor,” and Darren Aronofsky‘s “The Wrestler.”