Awards Coverage: Indie Spirit Awards

Film Independent has announced the nominees for this year’s Independent Spirit Awards, which exclusively honor artistically unique low budget cinema. It’s a fine batch of nominees that will most likely prove more satisfying than the inevitably snoozy Oscar roster due out in a few months. I’ve not seen some of these films due mostly to a lack of theatrical release or limited availability, but I can’t find an undeserving name to my knowledge. The show will be broadcast live on IFC Saturday, February 24th with Sarah Silverman returning as host. As I’ve said before, I’m a huge supporter of unconventional and independent filmmaking and I encourage everyone to tune in to the show and check out the nominated films. Many of these are available on DVD (or soon will be) and several will be released in the next month or so during Oscar season. Here are some key categories to sample. Got to http://filmindependent.org/spiritawards for the full list of nominees.

BEST FEATURE
American Gun
The Dead Girl
Half Nelson
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth

BEST DIRECTOR
Robert Altman - A Prairie Home Companion
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris - Little Miss Sunshine
Ryan Fleck - Half Nelson
Karen Moncrieff - The Dead Girl
Steven Soderbergh – Bubble

BEST SCREENPLAY
Neil Burger - The Illusionist
Nicole Holofcener - Friends with Money
Ron Nyswaner - The Painted Veil
Jason Reitman - Thank You For Smoking
Jeff Stanzler - Sorry, Haters

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson
Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration
Elizabeth Reaser - Sweet Land
Michelle Williams - Land of Plenty
Robin Wright Penn - Sorry, Haters

BEST MALE LEAD
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Edward Norton - The Painted Veil
Ahmad Razvi Man – Man Push Cart
Forest Whitaker - American Gun

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Melonie Diaz - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
Marcia Gay Harden - American Gun
Mary Beth Hurt - The Dead Girl
Frances McDormand - Friends with Money
Amber Tamblyn - Stephanie Daley

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Raymond J. Barry - Steel City
Daniel Craig - Infamous
Paul Dano - Little Miss Sunshine
Channing Tatum - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints