2009 Spirit Award Nominees

If you thought the previous two posts were repetitive, here’s something different. The Film Independent’s Spirit Awards air the day before the Academy Awards, February 21, on the IFC.

Film Independent is everything the Academy is not. Notice their description:

Film Independent is an open enrollment and non-profit membership organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps fimmakers make their movies, builds the audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, film industry leader, or a film lover.

Here are some of the nominees. For the complete list, see the official Film Independent’s Spirit Awards website. (Whenever possible, I’ve provided links to the films’ official websites.)

Best Feature: Ballast; Frozen River; Rachel Getting Married; Wendy and Lucy; The Wrestler

Best Director: Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop); Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married); Lance Hammer (Ballast); Courtney Hunt (Frozen River); Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)

Best First Feature: Afterschool; Medicine for Melancholy; Sangre De Mi Sangre; Sleep Dealer; Synecdoche, New York

Best Screenplay: Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona); Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (Sugar); Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York); Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace); Christopher Zalla (Sangre De Mi Sangre)

Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (Milk); Lance Hammer (Ballast); Courtney Hunt (Frozen River); Jonathan Levine (The Wackness); Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)

Best Female Lead: Summer Bishil (Towelhead); Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married); Melissa Leo (Frozen River); Tarra Riggs (Ballast); Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)

Best Male Lead: Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona); Richard Jenkins (The Visitor); Sean Penn (Milk); Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker); Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Best Supporting Female: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona); Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married); Rosie Perez (The Take); Misty Upham (Frozen River); Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)

Best Supporting Male: James Franco (Milk); Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker); Charlie McDermott (Frozen River); JimMyron Ross (Ballast); Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor)

Best Foreign Film: The Class; Gomorra; Hunger; Secret of the Grain; Silent Light

Best Documentary: The Betrayal; Encounters at the End of the World; Man on Wire; The Order of Myths; Up the Yangtze