'127 Hours' and 'Winter's Bone' lead the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards Nominees

"Black Swan" was nominated for best feature, best director and best female lead.

Credit: Fox Searchlight

LOS ANGELES - The nominees for the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning and the best film nominees include "127 Hours," "Winter's Bone," "Greenberg," "The Kids Are All Right" and "Black Swan."  The annual awards kudocast represents the best in American independent film as chosen by committees selected by parent organization Film Independent.

Debra Granik's Sundance Film Festival dramatic grand jury winner "Winter's Bone" landed seven nominations including film, director, best female lead, best supporting female, best supporting male, screenplay and cinematography.  "The Kids Are All Right" had five nominations while "Black Swan," "Greenberg" and "Rabbit Hole" each landed four.  "127 Hours," "Jack Goes Boating" and "Tiny Furniture" found three each.

By distributor, the selection committees spread the love around this year as Fox Searchlight, Focus Features and IFC Films each were awarded nine nominations.  Roadside Attractions and Sony Classics weren't far behind with eight and seven respectively.

Notable omissions included "I Am Love" in the foreign film category, "Waiting for Superman" in documentary and Dianne Wiest for best supporting female for "Rabbit Hole."

The 2011 Independent Spirit Awards will take place on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 in Santa Monica, CA.  The show will be aired later that night at 10 PM ET/PT on IFC.  Joel McHale will make his debut as Spirits host following Eddie Izzard's turn at the podium last year.

A complete list of this year's nominees are listed below.

BEST FILM

"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 FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
"Everything Strange and New"
Director: Frazer Bradshaw
Producers: A.D. Liano, Laura Techera Francia
"Get Low"
Director: Aaron Schneider
Producers: David Gundlach, Dean Zanuck
"Night Catches Us"
Director: Tanya Hamilton
Producers: Sean Costello, Jason Orans, Ronald Simons
"The Last Exorcism"
Director: Daniel Stamm
Producers: Marc Abraham, Tom Bliss, Eric Newman, Eli Roth
"Tiny Furniture"
Director: Lena Dunham
Producers: Kyle Martin, Alicia Van Couvering

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"

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.  Award given to the writer, director, and producer.  Executive Producers are not listed.
" Daddy Longlegs"
Writer/Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Producers: Casey Neistat, Tom Scott
"Lbs."
Director: Matthew Bonifacio
Writer/Producers: Matthew Bonifacio, Carmine Famiglietti
"Lovers of Hate"
Writer/Director: Bryan Poyser
Producer: Megan Gilbride
"Obselidia"
Writer/Director: Diane Bell
Producers: Chris Byrne, Mathew Medlin
"The Exploding Girl"
Writer/Director: Bradley Rust Gray
Producers: Karin Chien, Ben Howe, So Yong Kim

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 CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Kimmel, "Never Let Me Go"
Matthew Libatique, "Black Swan"
Jody Lee Lipes "Tiny Furniture"
Michael McDonough, "Winter’s Bone"
Harris Savides, "Greenberg"

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
"Exit Through the Gift Shop," Director: Banksy
"Marwencol," Director: Jeff Malmberg
"Restrepo," Directors: Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
"Sweetgrass," Directors: Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor
"Thunder Soul," Director: Mark Landsman

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
"Kisses
"(Ireland)
Director: Lance Daly

"Mademoiselle Chambo"(France)
Director: Stéphane Brizé

"Of Gods and Men" 
(Morocco)
Director: Xavier Beauvois

"The King’s Speech"
(United Kingdom)
Director: Tom Hooper

"Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
" (Thailand)
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

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