The full list of nominations for the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards has been released, and boy is the playing field….even. Of the six films nominated for Best Feature, The Artist barely takes a lead with five nominations total, while Drive, Beginners, Take Shelter and The Descendants have four and 50/50 has three.
It should be noted that Martha Marcy May Marlene and Margin Call have three nominations as well, with the latter scoring the Robert Altman Award. Each year, that Robert Altman Award goes to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble.
Personally, I haven’t seen most of these films, but I’m routing for Take Shelter to win as many awards as possible, due to my unrequited love of  Michael Shannon. It would also be pretty cool to see Jim Rash (the dean on Community) win a Best Screenplay award for The Descendants.
Oh, and John C. Reilly should totally win Best Supporting for his role in Cedar Rapids.
Check out this list below, and let us know what you think in the comments.
Best Feature
50/50
Beginners
Drive
Take Shelter
The Artist
The Descendants
Best Director
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Nicholas W. Refn (Drive)
Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Robert Altman Award
Margin Call
Best International Film
A Separation
Melancholia
Shame
The Kid With a Bike
Tyrranasaur
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)
Rachel Harris (Natural Selection)
Adepero Oduye (Pariah)
Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
Best Supporting Male
Albert Brooks (Drive)
John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
John C. Reilly (Cedar Rapids)
Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris)
Best Supporting Female
Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter)
Angelica Huston (50/50)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Harmony Santana (Gun Hill Road)
Shaileen Woodley (The Descendants)
Best Documentary
An African Selection
Bill Cunningham New York
The Interrupters
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
We Were Here
Best Screenplay
Joseph Cedar (FootNote)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Tom McCarthy (Win Win)
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (The Descendants)
Best First Screenplay
Mike Cahill and Brit Marling (Another Earth)
J.C. Chandor (Margin Call)
Patrick DeWitt (Terri)
Phil Johnston (Cedar Rapids)
Will Reiser (50/50)
Best Cinematography
Joel Hodge (Bellflower)
Benjamin Kuh-Sulk (The Off Hours)
Darius Kond-Jee (Midnight in Paris)
Gui-omme Shiffman (The Artist)
Jeffrey Waldron (The Dynamiter)
John Cassavetes Award
(films made for under $500 thousand)
Bellflower
Circumstance
Hello Lonesome
Pariah
The Dynamiter
Best First Feature
Another Earth
In The Family
Margin Call
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Natural Selection
