News

Reviewer: James van Maanen

Ratings (out of five): ****

Loneliness is not the easiest quality to capture on film, at least not without boring us by offering up the usual visual clichés of the figure, alone in a landscape, or within but separated somehow from the world around him/her. Loneliness when you're with other people is a harder thing to pinpoint, and one of the treats of the new film Hello Lonesome is that its writer/ director Adam Reid manages this odd and tricky task very well.

Seth Rogen hosted the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday evening and the winners are:

Best Feature: The Artist. Also nominated: 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter and The Descendants.

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). Nominated: Mike Mills (Beginners), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter), and Alexander Payne (The Descendants).

Best First Feature: Margin Call. Nominated: Another Earth, In The Family, , Martha Marcy May Marlene and Natural Selection.

Best Male Lead Performance: Jean Dujardin (The Artist). Nominated: Demián Bichir (A Better Life), , Ryan Gosling (Drive), Woody Harrelson (Rampart) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter).

Best Female Lead Performance: Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn). Nominated: Lauren Ambrose (Think of Me), Rachel Harris (Natural Selection), Adepero Oduye (Pariah) and Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene).

Best Supporting Male Performance: Christopher Plummer (Beginners). Nominated: Albert Brooks (Drive), John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene), John C Reilly (Cedar Rapids) and Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris...

Film Independent presented the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards today in Santa Monica, California, which was hosted by Seth Rogen. The ceremony was streamed live through Yahoo! Movies and will air on IFC at 10 Pm Et/Pt. You can take a look at the full list of nominees and winners below.

Best Feature (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)

The Artist - Producer: Thomas Langmann

50/50 - Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen

Beginners - Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy

Drive - Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel

Take Shelter - Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin

The Descendants - Producers: Jimmy Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist

Mike Mills - Beginners

Jeff Nichols - Take Shelter

Alexander Payne - The Descendants

Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive

Best Screenplay

Alexander Payne,...

For the past twelve years, the Independent Spirit Awards have been held the night before the Oscars, and although the two sets of nominees sometimes overlap, traditionally the Spirit Awards end up honouring most of the films that the Academy ignores. This year things might be a little bit different, however, as Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist ended up taking home a handful of the major Spirit Awards including Best Feature, Best Director and Best Male Lead. As far as I know, the Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards have only picked the same Best Picture once before: Oliver Stone's Platoon in 1986. Christopher Plummer also won for Best Supporting Male, while Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) won for Best Female Lead. Is this all a sign of what's to come tomorrow night? There are at least a few Spirit Award winners who won't be repeating at the Academy...

Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist" was the big winner at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards. The black-and-white silent film took home Best Feature, Director for Hazanavicius, Best Male Lead for Jean Dujardin, and Best Cinematography for Guillaume Schiffman.

In the performance categories, Michelle Williams took home the Best Female Lead award for her Marilyn Monroe portrayal in "My Week with Marilyn." Shailene Woodley, snubbed by the Academy for her memorable performance as George Clooney's daughter in "The Descendants," won Best Supporting Actress while Oscar frontrunner, Christopher Plummer, received the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in "Beginners."

Held on Santa Monica Beach and hosted by Seth Rogen, the 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast by IFC at 10 p.m. Pst/Est.

Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the Independent Spirit Awards:

Best Feature

50/50 - Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen...

Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, The Artist The Artist, Jean Dujardin, Michelle Williams: Spirit Award Winners Best Feature (Award given to the producer) 50/50 Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen Beginners Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy Drive Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel Take Shelter Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin * The Artist Producer: Thomas Langmann The Descendants Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor Best Director * Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Mike Mills – Beginners Jeff Nichols – Take Shelter Alexander Payne – The Descendants Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive Best Screenplay Joseph Cedar – Footnote Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Tom McCarthy – Win Win Mike Mills – Beginners * Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants Best International Film (Award given to the director) * A Separation (Iran) Director: Asghar Farhadi Melancholia (Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany) Director: Lars von Trier Shame (UK) Director: Steve McQueen...

Hardly a surprise to anyone, The Artist dominated the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards, winning for Best Feature, Director (Michel Hazanavicius), Actor (Jean Dujardin) and Cinematography (Guillaume Schiffman). There were some complaints in the Twitter-verse as Penelope Anne Miller accepted the awards for The Artist up until Hazanavicius and the rest of The Artist team arrived five minutes before Hazanavicious was named Best Director. The reason? They'd just landed at Lax after flying in from France where The Artist won six awards at the Cesar Awards, France's equivalent of the Oscars, last night. A police escort managed to get them to the Spirits just in time for their third win of the night... also in time to take the stage to accept Best Feature Film. The Artist went into the Spirits with Take Shelter as the leading nominees with both receiving five nominations each. Take Shelter, however, only ended up going home...

Chicago – Welcome to the HollywoodChicago.com coverage of the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards. These awards honor the best in independent film for 2011. Seth Rogen is hosting the Awards which will be shown at 9 p.m. Cst on IFC.

Below you will find a list of all the nominees for each category. As winners are announced, the list will be updated with winners appearing with a Spirit Awards icon next to them. All of the winners will have been announced before the show tonight, so if you don’t want to be Spoiled before watching the awards, don’t read any further.

Film Independent Spirit Awards

Photo credit: Film Independent

Best Feature

The Artist

Beginners

The Descendants

Drive

50/50

Take Shelter

Best Female Lead

Lauren Ambrose, “Think of Me”

Rachael Harris, “Natural Selection”

Adepero Oduye, “Pariah”

Elizabeth Olsen, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”

Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Best Male Lead

Demián Bichir,...

'The Artist' dominates, winning best feature, director, male lead (Jean Dujardin) and cinematography.

By Mary J. Dimeglio

Director for "The Artist," Michel Hazanavicius

Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

"The Artist" dominated the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon, snagging trophies for best feature, director, male lead (Jean Dujardin) and cinematography.

Michelle Williams was awarded Best Female Lead for her role in "My Week With Marilyn," while Best Supporting honors went to Christopher Plummer ("Beginners") and Shailene Woodley ("The Descendants").

The ceremony, hosted by Seth Rogan, will air at 10 p.m. Et/Pt Saturday (February 25) on IFC.

Best Feature

"50/50"

"Beginners"

"Drive"

"Take Shelter"

"The Artist"

"The Descendants"

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius - "The Artist"

Mike Mills - "Beginners"

Jeff Nichols - "Take Shelter"

Alexander Payne - "The Descendants"

Nicolas Winding Refn - "Drive"

Best Screenplay

Joseph Cedar - "Footnote"

Michel Hazanavicius - "The Artist"

Tom McCarthy - "Win Win...

'The Artist' dominates, winning best feature, director, male lead (Jean Dujardin) and cinematography.

By Mary J. Dimeglio

Director for "The Artist," Michel Hazanavicius

Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

"The Artist" dominated the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon, snagging trophies for best feature, director, male lead (Jean Dujardin) and cinematography.

Michelle Williams was awarded Best Female Lead for her role in "My Week With Marilyn," while Best Supporting honors went to Christopher Plummer ("Beginners") and Shailene Woodley ("The Descendants").

The ceremony, hosted by Seth Rogan, will air at 10 p.m. Et/Pt Saturday (February 25) on IFC.

Best Feature

"50/50"

"Beginners"

"Drive"

"Take Shelter"

"The Artist"

"The Descendants"

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius - "The Artist"

Mike Mills - "Beginners"

Jeff Nichols - "Take Shelter"

Alexander Payne - "The Descendants"

Nicolas Winding Refn - "Drive"

Best Screenplay

Joseph Cedar - "Footnote"

Michel Hazanavicius - "The Artist"

Tom McCarthy - "Win Win...

This weekend isn't just about the Oscars, for the record. Saturday night, as is traditional, sees the warm-up for the big show with the 2012 Spirit Awards, Film Independent's antidote to the Academy Awards, intended to honor the best of independent cinema. With recent winners of the top prize including "Juno," "The Wrestler," "Precious" and "Black Swan," they've provided the opportunity for films that are perhaps a little too dark, small or offbeat to win Best Picture from the Academy the chance to grab some gold.

This year, things may be a little different, with oscar front-runner "The Artist" nominated in multiple categories, so we could end up seeing the two ceremonies mirroring each other more closely than ever. But will that actually be the case? True to their name, the Independent Spirits have been known to go their own way. We've run down our predictions below, and stay tuned for...

This is it! The final week of Voting Spirit 2012. Last week I completed my journey to see all 38 nominated features, and then I–along with scores of other Ifp and Film Independent members– cast my ballot. And now I’ll break down for you my final thoughts on the nominees, as well as who will win and who should.

Tyrannosaur, The Kid With A Bike, Shame, A Separation, Melancholia

A curious trend in this year’s International nominees is a tendency toward truly dark drama. The Dardenne Bros. Kid With a Bike contains a lot of violence for a film about a young boy. Steve McQueen’s Shame dives headfirst into the depths of sexual depravity; while Paddy Considine’s deeply bleak Tyrannosaur paints a portrait so revolting that it dares you not to look away. Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation explores the troubling realm of what happens when good people make awful choices,...

"Filmmaking is a terrible business, but one of the greatest hobbies ever," says director Adam Reid, Independent Spirit Award nominee for his film "Hello Lonesome." Reid's film is a collection of three interwoven short stories about the desire to love and be loved. Reid got his start in filmmaking when, after years struggling as a "terrible" actor in Los Angeles, he took a job producing promos for Comedy Central in New York. While he doesn't enjoy the business aspect of making movies, Reid hopes to make 30 more films. But in the meantime, Reid is preparing for his new role as a father. What's it about? It’s about a bunch of characters looking for a spark of true connection wherever they can find it. Reid says: "I tell everyone we made 'Hello Lonesome' for $50,000, which is true. What I always forget to tell people is that I don...

Each week within this column Spirit Award voter & film critic Kristy Puchko will offer a keen insight on a new selection of nominees for the 2012 Spirit Awards, along with any garnered behind-the-scenes exclusives. The Spirit Awards will air February 25th @10Pm on IFC.

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to be truly surprised by some of this films I saw, but this week was submerged in a bittersweet atmosphere as my quest to see all the Spirit Awards 2012 nominees drew to a close. Part of me is admittedly relieved, as many of these films have been pretty emotionally wrecking, and I must confess craving some more mindless movie fare. Yet I will miss sitting among such a wonderfully engaged audience on a nightly basis. This is a viewing experience not guaranteed in movie theaters and screening rooms, and I will miss the certainty that those with whom I share the darkness of the venue,...

And with that, the Oscar race is on!

Tuesday (Nov 29) morning was a busy one for the films hoping to vie for Academy Awards in February. The New York Film Critics Circle listed its winners and the Film Independent Spirits announced its nominations simultaneously in a couple hours of dizzying Oscar buzz.

Both awards are usually the earliest indication of which films could lead the pack when it comes time to announce the Academy Award nominees in January. The Nyfcc were so early this year, in fact, that they had to delay their awards until after screening David Fincher's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," to which they awarded nothing.

Perhaps the biggest story coming out of both announcements was the emergence of Michael Hazanavicius's ode to golden-era silent film, "The Artist," as perhaps an early front-runner for Best Picture. The film had earned raves during the festival circuit a few months ago,...

Nominations for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced at 8 am this morning, Hollywood Time:

Best Feature: 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter, The Artist and The Descendants.

Best Director: Mike Mills (Beginners), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) and Alexander Payne (The Descendants).

Best First Feature: Another Earth, In The Family, Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Natural Selection.

Best Male Lead Performance: Demián Bichir (A Better Life), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Woody Harrelson (Rampart) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter).

Best Female Lead Performance: Lauren Ambrose (Think of Me), Rachel Harris (Natural Selection), Adepero Oduye (Pariah), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn).

Best Supporting Male Performance: Albert Brooks (Drive), John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Christopher Plummer (Beginners), John C Reilly (Cedar Rapids) and Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris).

Best Supporting Female Performance: Jessica Chastain...

Fresh off a big double win at the Gothams (where it won Best Feature and Best Ensemble), Mike Mills' Beginners has nabbed four nominations for the 27th Indie Spirit Awards tying with three other Best Feature hopefuls in Jeff Nichol's Take Shelter, The Descendants and Cannes preemed, Drive. However the four were outmatched by Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist which garnered five noms in Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography categories. Martha Marcy May Marlene grabbed four noms as well if you add the Upcoming Producer award along with the three noms in the Best First Feature, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor categories. Among the notable nominees worth mentioning and that raised some eyebrows, we have Lauren Ambrose's perf in Tiff shown "Think Of Me" and Rachel Harris' bit in the SXSW preemed "Natural Selection" that landed Best Female...

We already got the results from the voting by the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle, with "The Artist," "Beginners" and "The Tree of Life" becoming the big winners. And now, we have the nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards, which gives awards to films made for under $20 million. The Best Picture nominees are "50/50," "Beginners," "Drive," "Take Shelter," "The Artist" and "The Descendants." There aren't any big surprises, but just like with many other awards George Clooney's "The Descendants" is the favorite to win. Check out the full list of nominees below. The winners will be announced on February 25th. Best Feature: * 50/50 * Beginners * Drive * Take Shelter * The Artist * The Descendants Best Director: * Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) * Mike Mills (Beginners) * Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter) * Alexander Payne (The Descendants) * Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) Best Screenplay: * Joseph Cedar (Footnote) * Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) * Tom McCarthy (Win Win) * Mike Mills (Beginners) * Alexander Payne,...

At a ceremony in Los Angeles this morning, Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale announced the nominees for the 2012 Spirit Awards, which will be handed out on IFC on Saturday, February 25. And one night after it scored Best Film and Best Ensemble at the Gotham Awards, "Beginners" built more awards season momentum by landing four Spirit Award nominations: Best Feature, Best Director (Mike Mills), Best Screenplay (Mike Mills), and Best Supporting Male (Christopher Plummer). That put it one nomination behind the two biggest winners of the morning, "The Artist" and "Take Shelter," which each received five nominations. "Drive," "The Descendants," and "Martha Marcy May Marlene" also received four nominations a piece.

Picking the winners is not going to be easy for the members fo Film Independent this year; there are a lot of very deserving films and filmmakers and some very competitive categories. Take Best International Film. The nominees are "A Separation,...

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards this morning. Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale served as presenters. Nominees for Best Feature include 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter, The Artist and The Descendants.

Margin Call was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

“The Film Independent Spirit Awards recognize the finest artistic achievements across the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking.from emerging talent working on a shoestring budget to established auteurs,” said Film Independent Senior Director Sean Mc Manus. “The 2012 nominees tell their stories in such an authentic way and reflect the inclusive nature of the independent filmmaking community. We are delighted to support them and expand the audience for their work.”

2012 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Best Feature (Award given to the Producer,...

Chicago – Award season is definitely in full swing and nominations for ceremonies are just starting to be released. For the fan of the indie film, today is a very significant date: the release of the nominations for the 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards.

The Spirit Awards, which were created to provide praise and notoriety to the best in the year of independent film, announced their nominations when Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale read off the nominations at a presentation this morning. Leading the nominations were the films “The Artist” and “Take Shelter,” which both received five nominations.

Take Shelter

Photo credit: Sony Pictures Clssics

The Spirit Awards are known for being a ceremony that can boost independent films in the Oscar race, as well as providing a larger audience and interest in some lesser known films. Out of the past eight winners of the Best Feature Award at the Spirit Awards,...

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the The Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards this morning. Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale served as presenters. Nominees for Best Feature include 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter and The Artist.

Margin Call was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast.

"The Independent Spirit Awards recognize the finest artistic achievements across the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking-from emerging talent working on a shoestring budget to established auteurs," said Film Independent Senior Director Sean Mc Manus. "The 2012 nominees tell their stories in such an authentic way and reflect the inclusive nature of the independent filmmaking community. We are delighted to support them and expand the audience for their work."

"Sean Mc Manus focuses primarily on American independents, so it was...

The Artist, Take Shelter, and the other nominations for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced. The 27th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards “are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films…The Independent Spirit Awards are presented by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers…The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees selected nominees from 277 submissions this year and applied the following guidelines in determining the nominations: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter, economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost & individual compensation), and percentage of financing from independent sources.”

This year’s award ceremony will be held on February 25, 2012 “at the beach in Santa Monica and broadcast by IFC.”

The full listing of the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations is below.

Best Feature (Award...

It’s that time of year for various organizations to recognize some of the best films of 2011. Some of these awards are lesser known, but the Film Independent Spirit Awards, is not one of them. Film Independent which also helps produce the Los Angeles Film Festival has announced the 2012 Spirit Award Nominees.

Margin Call was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

Having seen Win Win the other day, I really hope that Tom McCarthy wins the award for Best Screenplay, but it will be hard to take the win, especially with the momentum that The Descendants and The Artist are having. As for other films, its no surprise to see 50/50, Drive, Beginners, and the aforementioned The Artist and The Descendants as the nominees for Best Feature. The Spirit Award nominees is just one of the...

The Oscars for movies made for under $20 million, the Independent Spirit Awards, announced their 2012 nominees Tuesday morning. Leading the pack with the most nominations were Jeff Nichols' Michael Shannon-centric Take Shelter and Michel Hazanavicius' black and white silent film The Artist. Those two will compete for the big award, Best Feature Film, with 50/50, The Descendants, Drive and Beginners. Read the rest of the nominees after the jump. Here is the full list of nominees for the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. The winners will be announced February 25. Best Feature Film: Take Shelter, The Artist, 50/50, The Descendants, Drive, Beginners Best First Feature: Another Earth, In The Family, Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Natural Selection Best Male Lead: Demian Bichir (A Better Life), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Woody Harrelson (Rampart), Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) Best Female Lead: Lauren Ambrose (Think of Me), Rachael Harris (Natural Selection), Adepero Oduye...

"Extra" caught up with stunning actress Kate Beckinsale as she announced the 2012 Independent Spirit Award nominations, asking her about her favorite indie films this year so far - and about starring in the remake of "Total Recall."

Check out the interview!

video platform

Here are the Independent Spirit Award nominations:

Best Feature

"50/50"

"Beginners"

"Drive"

"Take Shelter"

"The Artist"

"The Descendants"

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

Mike Mills, "Beginners"

Jeff Nichols, "Take Shelter"

Alexander Payne,...

With last night’s Gothams Awards ceremony in New York, awards season is now in full swing. Adding to the momentum, Film Independent just announced the nominees for its 27th annual Independent Spirit Awards. Leading the pack with five nominations each is Jeff Nichols’ apocalyptic southern gothic, Take Shelter and Michel Hazanavicius’ silent romance, The Artist. Next in line, receiving four nominations, were Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and Mike Mills’ Beginners (which split Best Picture with The Tree of Life at the Gothams last night). J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call will receive the annual Robert Altman Award, given each year to one film with an exemplary ensemble cast, and received two additional nominations.

The Spirit Awards take place Saturday, February 25th in Los Angeles. The full nominee list is below.

Best Feature

50/50 – Ben Karlin, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen

Beginners – Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Jan Van Hoy, Leslie Urdang,...

Remember all the way back to last night when the Gothams announced their annual awards and thus declared that awards season was like, so totally on? No? Really? It was just last night, come on. In that vein, the Film Independent Spirit Awards have just announced their nominations for their annual awards (held in February, on the beach, as ya do in Los Angeles), and their picks come with their own surprises. Remember (no, seriously, I need you to remember back less than twenty-four hours) how the Gothams didn’t give squat to Take Shelter or 50/50 or Martha Marcy May Marlene? Or Drive? Or The Descendants? Well, the Independent Spirit nominations are here to ease that pain. Leading the nominations pack are just those very films, along with Gotham darling Beginners and black and white sensation The Artist, with Take Shelter and The Artist tied for the most nominations, with five each. Following...

It’s that time of the year again. Our site will be flooded with top 10 lists, award nominees and previews of Oscar season. But first, the nominations for the 27th Film Independent’s Spirit Awards (my personal favourite award show), were unveiled by Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale this morning. It’s a bit of a surprise that 50/50 has a Best Feature nomination, but apart from that, I can’t really argue with the rest of the names on the list. Check back later in the month for our top 10 lists ranging from favourite scores, soundtracks, first features, trailers and so much more. In the meantime, here is the full list of nominees for the 27th Film Independent’s Spirit Awards.

via The Playlist

Best Feature

“50/50″

“Beginners”

“Drive”

“Take Shelter”

“The Artist”

“The Descendants”

Best Director

Mike Mills – “Beginners”

Nicolas Winding Refn – “Drive”

Jeff Nichols – “Take Shelter”

Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist...

It's official: Awards season is on, and it's about to be kicked into high gear.

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Gotham Awards, which surprised crowds when the Best Feature honor was bestowed on two movies, "Beginners" and "The Tree of Life," comes the announcement of nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards, which recognizes feature films that are made using "uniqueness of vision" and an "economy of means."

This year's nominations recognized a number of movies and individual performances that have been gaining Oscar buzz, including Elizabeth Olsen's role as a former cult member in "Martha Marcy May Marlene" and Alexander Payne's directorial work on George Clooney vehicle "The Descendents."

The films that made the greatest splash were "Beginners," "Take Shelter" and "Drive," which each scored four nominations. Cancer comedy "50/50" earned an impressive three nominations for Best Feature, Best First Screenplay, and for Anjelica Huston in the Best Supporting Female category.

The Artist and Take Shelter lead the nominations for the Spirit Awards, which honor films made outside of the Hollywood studio system. Close behind with four nominations each are Beginners, The Descendants, Drive, and Martha Marcy May Marlene. Conspicuously absent from the list of nominees are several top Oscar contenders: Midnight in Paris for Best Feature, Woody Allen for Best Director or Best Screenplay, Albert Nobbs star Glenn Close for Best Female Lead, and The Descendants’ George Clooney for Best Male Lead. That the Spirit Award nominees are decided on by a relatively small group of independent film professionals means that Allen,...

December is almost here and awards seasons is finally getting underway with a number of groups announcing their nominees today including the Gotham Independent Film Awards, New York Film Critics Circle, and the Independent Spirit Awards. Of these, the Spirit Awards are probably the most significant in that they can have a small influence on the Oscars, although they usually just end up honouring a lot of the stuff that the Academy ignores. This year, however, there are quite a few well-known nominees including at least three that received a wide theatrical release (50/50, Drive and Midnight in Paris). The movies that seem to be getting the most recognition, however, are Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist and Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter. Both received five nominations, while Drive and Martha Marcy May Marlene were also recognized with four nominations each. I'm a bit surprised that Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris...

It’s that time of year when bows of holly are hung, children scribble wish lists for Santa, and films worldwide jockey for notice as award season kicks off! Just a day after the Gotham Awards announced their winners, the 27th Film Independent’s Spirit Awards has announced their nominees.

The Spirit Awards has long aimed to pay tribute to the little films that often unfairly fail to grab Oscar notice. (It’s no coincidence that the Spirit Awards telecast is traditionally held the day before the Oscars ceremony each year.) Of course, with the Academy’s expansion to 10 Best Picture nominees, the past few years have shown an increase in the amount of crossover between the two award shows. Last year both the Academy Awards and the Spirit Awards bestowed nominations (if not awards) to Black Swan, Winter’s Bone, 127 Hours, The King’s Speech, The Kids Are All Right,...

"The Artist" and "Take Shelter" scored the most nominations for the Film Independent's Spirit Awards announced today. Each film received five nods while "Beginners," "Drive," "The Descendants," and "Martha Marcy May Marlene" each received four nominations.

The Spirit Award prides itself in honoring American-made films that are budgeted at under $20 million. Read the nominations below. The winners will be announced at the 27th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony on Feb. 25th. You can see the festivities on IFC.

And here are the nominees for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards:

Best Feature (Award given to the Producer)

50/50 - Ben Karlin, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen

Beginners - Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Jan Van Hoy, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech

Drive - Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel

Take Shelter - Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin

The Artist - Thomas Langmann, Emmanuel Montamat

The Descendants - Jim Burke, Alexander Payne,...

By Sean O’Connell

hollywoodnews.com: Mornings won’t get much busier than this at Awards Alley. Even when Oscar reveals his annual nominations, he has the decency of being the only game in town. Tuesday, as the New York Film Critics’ Circle (slowly) revealed their selections for the Best of 2011, the Independent Spirit Awards also took over West Hollywood to pull the curtain back on their full slate of nominees. We have them below.

Just this morning, I was writing about how Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” was collecting a series of small victories that could add up to big wins at the Academy Awards. Malick’s thoughtful drama split Best Feature with “Beginners” at the Gotham Independent Film Awards. And Sight & Sound named it the Best Film of 2011 in its annual poll.

“Tree” co-star Jessica Chastain then won Best Supporting Actress for her “Tree” role (in...

It's an award-based morning as not only were the Gotham Awards handed out last night, the New York Film Critics are in the middle of handing out their awards right now (that list is coming shortly) and now the nominations for Film Independent's 2012 Independent Spirit Awards were announced as Michael Hazanavicius' The Artist and Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter led the pack with five nominations each. The two leaders, however, were followed closely by Beginners, The Descendants, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Drive with four. Of those six, only Martha Marcy May Marlene wasn't nominated for Best Feature as it was replaced by 50/50, which ended up with three nominations. Of the films nominated for Best Feature, my gut tells me it's a battle between The Artist and The Descendants and this just may end up being the first sign as to which of those two may end up being the Oscar favorite.

Aside from being set in the general NYC tri-state area, the three interlocking, though not intersecting, stories that make up Hello Lonesome have little in common besides loneliness. And it’s a deliberately commonplace kind of loneliness. In his feature debut, writer-director-cinematographer Adam Reid follows a trio of protagonists who aren’t outcasts, hermits, or particularly socially deficient. They haven’t retreated from human contact, but their closest relationships have slipped away for various reasons, and they’re in a position where they’re going to have to reach out if they want or need people in their lives. One ...

If you read my Day 1 post, you will probably guess that Day 2 of the Austin Film Festival started off a wee bit fuzzy. I found my way to the Austin Convention Center for the screening of Adam Reid’s Hello Lonesome and despite my slight queasiness and minor sense of disorientation -- thanks to Dos Equis and my lack of inhibition when it comes to free beer -- I still enjoyed Hello Lonesome. I suspect that it is going to be a tough review to write, especially without revealing my favorite part of the film -- the ending. For now, I will just say that Hello Lonesome was like a Todd Solondz film but with nicer characters. I got right back in line for S&M Lawn Care -- which I have already seen and reviewed but I really wanted to experience with an audience. S&M Lawn Care is...

Always one of the most enjoyable events of the year, the 17th Austin Film Festival is gearing up to kick-off next month.

The annual event takes place from October 21-28 in Austin, Texas with movies such as Natalie Portman's "Black Swan" on the docket.

With other films set to screen including "Meek's Cutoff," "127 Hours," and "Fair Game," the full lineup is as follows:

Marquee Screenings

"127 Hours" – Danny Boyle (Writer/Director), Simon Beaufoy (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Black Swan" – Darren Aronofsky (Director), Andres Heinz (Writer), John McLaughlin (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Peep World" – Barry W. Blaustein (Director), Peter Himmelstein (Writer) – (U.S. Premiere)

"Bloodworth" – Shane Dax Taylor (Director), W. Earl Brown (Writer) – (World Premiere)

"Blue Valentine" – Derek Cianfrance (Writer/Director), Joey Curtis (Writer), Camille DeLavigne (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Exporting Raymond" – Phil Rosenthal (Director) – (World Premiere)

"Fair Game" – Doug Liman (Director), Jez & John-Henry Butterworth (Writers) – (Regional Premiere)

"High School" – John Stalberg (Writer/Director...

The Austin Film Festival has unveiled the program for its 17th edition, which runs October 21-28.

"Black Swan," "127 Hours," "Peep World," "Meek's Cutoff," "Conviction," "Brother's Justice," "Fair Game," and many more, including 23 U.S. and world premieres and a handful of locally-made projects, will screen at the fest. The opening, centerpiece and closing night films have not yet been announced.

Festival line-up is below:

Marquee Screenings

"127 Hours" – Danny Boyle (Writer/Director), Simon Beaufoy (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Black Swan" – Darren Aronofsky (Director), Andres Heinz (Writer), John McLaughlin (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Peep World" – Barry W. Blaustein (Director), Peter Himmelstein (Writer) – (U.S. Premiere)

"Bloodworth" – Shane Dax Taylor (Director), W. Earl Brown (Writer) – (World Premiere)

"Blue Valentine" – Derek Cianfrance (Writer/Director), Joey Curtis (Writer), Camille DeLavigne (Writer) – (Regional Premiere)

"Exporting Raymond" – Phil Rosenthal (Director) – (World Premiere)

"Fair Game" – Doug Liman (Director), Jez & John-Henry Butterworth (Writers) – (Regional Premiere)

"High School" – John Stalberg (Writer/Director...

Hello Lonesome is a finely tuned film about loneliness and the need to connect. It's a nice blend of quirky and profound, somber and hopeful. Writer/director Adam Reid talked about how this movie was a passion project at the L.A. Film Fest and it's safe to say his passion translated well on screen. Hello Lonesome is packed with a solid ensemble cast and some nice cinematography.

With an enchanting mixture of laughter and longing, the worlds of six flawed yet endearing individuals are woven together as they explore those age-old human desires: to love and be loved.

Official Website: www.hellolonesome.com...

After running for 10 days and showing over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival finally came to a close on Sunday. In my final write up you can read which films won the major prizes and my thoughts on the festival along with my mini-reviews on a couple of films including the Australian crime film Animal Kingdom, the documentary Freakonomics, the Chilean martial arts film Mandrill, the British comedy about suicide bombers Four Lions, the recently much buzzed about Monsters, and Welcome to the Rileys starring James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart. My write up after the jump:

The Winners

Jury Prize for Best Narrative film – A Family (En Familie) directed by Pernille Fischer

Jury Prize for Best Documentary – Make Believe directed by J. Clay Tweel

Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Performance in a Narrative – the ensemble cast of Hello Lonesome directed by Adam Reid...

hollywoodnews.com: Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced its 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival audience award winners before the Closing Night film, “Despicable Me.” The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by The Los Angeles Times, with its central hub at L.A. Live, began Thursday, June 17 and ended today.

The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to “Four Lions” directed by Christopher Morris and the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to “Thunder Soul,” directed by Mark Landsman. Roberto Hernández and Geoffrey Smith’s “Presumed Guilty won the Audience Award for Best International Feature.

The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Dock Ellis & the LSD No-No, directed by James Blagden. The video for Ok Go’s This Too Shall Pass, directed by James Frost, Ok Go, and Syyn Labs won the Audience Award for Best Music Video.

Pernille Fischer Christensen's "A Family" (En Familie), about a Danish family facing the death of its patriarch, was awarded the narrative award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, which handed out its jury prizes Saturday at a brunch at Chaya Downtown.

The fest’s documentary award went to J. Clay Tweel's "Make Believe," which looks at young magicians vying for the title of Teen World Champion.

Each award includes a $50,000 cash prize, funded by Film Independent, which produces the festival.

The award for best ensemble performance was given to Sabrina Lloyd, James Urbaniak, Lynn Cohen, Harry Chase, Nate Smith and Kamel Boutros for their work in Adam Reid's "Hello Lonesome."

Pablo Larcuen's "My Invisible Friend" took the best narrative short film honors, while Tomasz Wolski's "The Lucky One”"was named best documentary short and Beomsik Shimbe Shim's "Wonder Hospital" was best animated short.

The fest,...

Jesper Christensen in Pernille Fischer Christensen‘s A Family (top); J. Clay Tweet‘s Make Believe (bottom) Pernille Fischer Christensen‘s Danish drama En Familie / A Family and J. Clay Tweel‘s Make Believe were the top winners of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival 2010 awards. In Best Narrative Feature A Family, a proud patriarch wants his daughter to take over the family’s bakery business; the woman, however, has a job waiting for her in New York. Best Documentary Feature Make Believe shows six teenagers competing for the title of Teen World Champion at the World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. Other Laff 2010 winners were Sabrina Lloyd, James Urbaniak, Lynn Cohen, Harry Chase, Nate Smith and Kamel Boutros for their ensemble performance in Adam Reid‘s Hello Lonesome; Pablo Larcuen‘s My Invisible Friend for Best Narrative Short Film; Tomasz Wolski‘s The Lucky One for Best Documentary...

hollywoodnews.com: Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced its 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival award winners at a brunch at Chaya Downtown. Audience award winners will be announced tomorrow afternoon at the Closing Night film, Despicable Me. The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by The Los Angeles Times, with its central hub at L.A. Live, began Thursday, June 17 and will end on Sunday, June 27.

“There were thousands of movie fans at the festival this year, discovering new stories from our talented filmmakers,” said Film Independent Executive Director Dawn Hudson. “We are delighted to have the support of the Los Angeles film-going community for these films and their creators”

The two top juried awards of the Los Angeles Film Festival are the Narrative Award and Documentary Award, each carrying an unrestricted $50,000 cash prize, funded by Film Independent, for the winning film’s director.

Pernille Fischer Christensen’s A Family won the Los Angeles Film Festival narrative award, while J. Clay Tweel’s Make Believe collected the documentary award at the awards brunch Saturday. Full Los Angeles Film Festival winners at indieWIRE. The Laff, which moved its central hub to L.A. Live, began Thursday, June 17 and will end on Sunday, June 27. The two top jury awards of the Laff, the narrative award and documentary award, each come with a $50,000 cash prize, funded by Film Independent, for the film’s director. The award for best ensemble performance in the narrative competition went to Sabrina Lloyd, James Urbaniak, Lynn Cohen, Harry Chase, Nate Smith and Kamel Boutros for Adam Reid’s Hello Lonesome. The award for best narrative short film went to ...

When the nice folks at MakingOf.com asked me to introduce this “behind the scenes” short film put together by my friend and Hello Lonesome associate producer Mark Rosenberg I thought I would try something different than the usual indie film stats.*

Behind the development and production of any film is a massive collection of choices. I thought it might be cool if I listed a random sampling of the choices I made making Hello Lonesome and why. In no particular order whatsoever, you know, for entertainment value:

Choice: No dollys, cranes, or steadicams, really no grip equipment whatsoever.

Why: I told myself that it would make the film more intimate and personal, but really, on our budget we couldn’t afford the equipment, or the crew to use it.

Choice: Two Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Why: They came with the Manhattan location. Either I had to hide 300 lbs of dog...

Rating: 3/5

Writer: Adam Reid

Director: Adam Reid

Cast: Sabrina Lloyd, Lynn Cohen, James Urbaniak, Harry Chase, Nate Smith

Writer and director Adam Reid goes the multi-story route with Hello Lonesome, giving us three different (and not visibly linked) tales of people dealing with loneliness. Despite similar themes and feelings, our storylines do not interact. There’s no trickery here – no late reveal that someone is actually someone else’s daughter or that two of our previously unrelated characters used to be involved or anything of that nature. Hello Lonesome is closer to a set of vignettes, three short films that question the same issues. What is loneliness? What is the difference between being alone and being lonely? How do we connect with other people? Is there inherent value to being alone (or even to being lonely)?

Read more on Laff 2010 Review: Hello Lonesome…...

In 1999, if you'd asked me to name the cutest woman alive (the pre-Felicia Day, if you will), I'd have probably nominated Sabrina Lloyd, in large part because of the white-men's button down episode of "Sports Night," the episode where Aaron Sorkin got deep into the recesses of every male fantasy and properly identified the outfit more alluring than any lingerie. It was that men's white button down, as I recall, that brought Jeremy and Natalie back together.

I haven't seen Lloyd since her stint on "Ed" some seven years ago (she also had a lengthy arc on "Numb3rs"), so it's good to see her in the very whimsiquirkilicious trailer for Hello Lonesome from the virtually unknown writer/director Adam Reid. I don't know much about the flick, except that it's being screened at the La Film Festival (if you're out there, you can catch up tomorrow and Wednesday nights). Hopefully,...