The 2011 Spirit Award Nominations




The Spirit Awards, an annual celebration of the best in indie film, will take place Saturday, February 26 hosted by Joel McHale. This year. IFC will be broadcasting the event at a reasonable time for those of us in the eastern time zone at 10 p.m. You can find out more about the awards and how the nominations and voting process work here.

Selected from 220 submissions, this year’s winners will be announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 2 p.m. on the beach in Santa Monica. Since most of us won’t be there you can catch the taped awards show will air exclusively that night on IFC at 10 p.m. EST.

The nominees:

BEST FEATURE

127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter's Bone

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter's Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole


BEST SCREENPLAY

Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone
Nicole Holofcener, Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire, Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz, Life During Wartime

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Kisses, Ireland, Director: Lance Daly
Mademoiselle Chambon, France, Director: Stéphane Brizé
Of Gods and Men, France, Director: Xavier Beauvois
The King's Speech, United Kingdom, Director: Tom Hooper
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Thailand, Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul


BEST FIRST FEATURE

Everything Strange and New
Get Low
Night Catches Us
The Last Exorcism
Tiny Furniture


BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Diane Bell, Obselidia
Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
Nik Fackler, Lovely, Still
Bob 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
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine


BEST MALE LEAD

Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole
James Franco, 127 Hours
John C. Reilly, Cyrus
Ben Stiller, Greenberg


BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey, Winter's Bone
Allison Janney, Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts, Mother and Child




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


BEST DOCUMENTARY

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Marwencol
Restrepo
Sweetgrass
Thunder Soul

ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 17th annual Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Acura.

Hossein Keshavarz, Dog Sweat
Laurel Nakadate, The Wolf Knife
Mike Ott, Littlerock

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 14th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
In-Ah Lee
Au Revoir Taipei
Adele Romanski
The Myth of the American Sleepover
Anish Savjani
Meek’s Cutoff


AVEENO® TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 16th annual AVEENO® Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by AVEENO®.

Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor - Sweetgrass
Jeff Malmberg - Marwencol
Lynn True, Nelson Walker - Summer Pasture

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD - (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Please Give, Director: Nicole Holofcener

Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy

Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele