Independent Spirit Awards

The recipients of the Independent Spirit Awards were announced on February 26, 2011. Here are some of the nominees and winners of the major categories:

BEST FEATURE
127 Hours
Black Swan (winner)
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan (winner)
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Everything Strange and New
Get Low (winner)
The Last Exorcism
Night Catches Us
Tiny Furniture

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Daddy Longlegs (winner)
The Exploding Girl
LBS.
Lovers of Hate
Obselidia

BEST SCREENPLAY
Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right) (winner)
Debra Granik, Anne Rosselini (Winter’s Bone)
Nicole Holofcener (Please Give)
David Lindsay-Abair (Rabbit Hole)
Todd Solondz (Life During Wartime)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell (Obselidia)
Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture) (winner)
Nik Fakler (Lovely, Still)
Robert Glaudini (Jack Goes Boating)
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener (Monogamy)

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan (winner)
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole
James Franco, 127 Hours (winner)
John C. Reilly, Cyrus
Ben Stiller, Greenberg

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone (winner)
Allison Janney, Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts, Mother and Child

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Bill Murray, Get Low
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone (winner)
Samuel L. Jackson, Mother and Child
John Ortiz, Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The King’s Speech (winner)
Kisses
Mademoiselle Chambon
Of Gods and Men
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Mike Ott, Littlerock (winner)
Laurel Nakadate, The Wolf Knife
Hossein Keshavarz, Dog Sweat

The Academy Awards get most of the attention each year, but the films nominated for Spirit Awards will usually tell you stories that you might find more challenging, more interesting, and more satisfying. The complete list of nominees and winners of the Spirit Awards can be found here.