The Independent Spirit Award nominees have been announced. Ballast, Frozen River and Rachel Getting Married are leading the charge with six nominations each.
All of them will contest the best feature award, alongside The Wrestler and Wendy And Lucy, and they'll also vie against one another for best first screenplay and best director.
Their stars, Tara Riggs (Ballast - about a widow's struggles with her son and her brother-in-law), Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married - which sees a woman in and out of rehab return home for her sister's nuptials) and Melissa Leo (Frozen River - concerning two women drawn into cross-border smuggling) will also duke it out in the best actress category.
British films are also among the award's contenders, with Steve McQueen's Hunger receiving a nomination for best foreign film - in a strong field also featuring Cannes-winner The Class - and James Marsh's documentary Man On Wire, garnering yet another nomination for best documentary.
The Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast, will go to Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York, which features Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, and Michelle Williams.
Chair of the American Narrative Feature Nominating Committee Gail Mutrux said “It is remarkable that in addition to some better known voices, like in years past, there is an entirely new generation of independent filmmaking voices.
"Recognising the idiosyncrasy and range of these talents is, as always, as rewarding for us as it is for the nominees.”
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Saturday, February 21.
The full list of nominees is as follows:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer)
Ballast - Producer: Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh
Frozen River - Producers: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae
Rachel Getting Married - Producers: Jonathan Demme, Neda Armin, Marc Platt
Wendy And Lucy - Producer: Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani
The Wrestler - Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin
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 (Award given to the director and producer)
Afterschool - Director: Antonio Campos; Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond
Medicine For Melancholy - Director: Barry Jenkins; Producer: Justin Barber
Sangre De Mi Sangre - Director: Christopher Zalla; Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell
Sleep Dealer - Director: Alex Rivera; Producer: Anthony Bregman
Synecdoche, New York - Director: Charlie Kaufman; Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie
Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel
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
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
In Search Of A Midnight Kiss - Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge; Producers: Seth Caplan, Scoot McNairy
Prince Of Broadway - Director: Sean Baker; Writers: Sean Baker, Darren Dean; Producer: Darren Dean
The Signal - Writer/Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry; Producers: Jacob Gentry, Alexander Motlagh
Take Out - Writer/Director/Producers: Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou
Turn The River - Writer/Director: Chris Eigeman; Producer: Ami Armstrong
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
Pene?lope 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 CINEMATOGRAPHY
Maryse Alberti - The Wrestler
Lol Crawley - Ballast
James Laxton - Medicine For Melancholy
Harris Savides - Milk
Michael Simmonds - Chop Shop
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
The Betrayal - Director: Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
Encounters At The End Of The World - Director: Werner Herzog
Man On Wire - Director: James Marsh
The Order Of Myths - Director: Margaret Brown
Up The Yangtze Director: Yung Chang
BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
The Class (France) - Director: Laurent Cantet
Gomorrah (Italy) - Director: Matteo Garrone
Hunger (UK/Ireland) - Director: Steve McQueen
Secret Of The Grain (France) - Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Silent Light (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany) - Director: Carlos Reygadas
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Synecdoche, New York - Director: Charlie Kaufman
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener,
Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson,
Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams
