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 27^th 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 25^th 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, 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, Jim Taylor

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Mike Mills, Beginners

Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Best First Feature
Another Earth – Director: Mike Cahill; Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker

In The Family – Director: Patrick Wang; Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang

Margin Call – Director: J.C. Chandor; Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto

Martha Marcy May Marlene – Director: Sean Durkin; Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond

Natural Selection – Director: Robbie Pickering; Producers: Brion, Hambel, Paul Jensen

John Cassavetes Award
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
Bellflower – Writer/Director: Evan Glodell; Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw

Circumstance – Writer/Director: Maryam Kesahavarz; Producers: Karin Chien, Maryan Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee

Hello Lonesome – Writer/Director/Producer: Adam Reid

Pariah – Writer/Director: Dee Rees; Producer: Nekisa Cooper

The Dynamiter – Writers: Matthew Gordon, Brad Ingelsby; Director: Matthew Gordon; Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

Best Screenplay
Mike Mills, Beginners

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants

Joseph Cedar, Footnote

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Tom McCarthy, Win Win

Best First Screenplay
Mike Cahill & Brit Marling, Another Earth

Patrick deWitt, Terri

Phil Johnston, Cedar Rapids

Will Reiser, 50/50

J.C. Chandor, Margin Call

Best Female Lead
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Rachael Harris, Natural Selection

Adepero Oduye, Pariah

Lauren Ambrose, Think of Me

Best Male Lead
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Woody Harrelson, Rampart

Ryan Gosling, Drive

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Demian Bichir, A Better Life

Best Supporting Female
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter

Anjelica Huston, 50/50

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road

Shailenne Woodley, The Descendants

Best Supporting Male
Albert Brooks, Drive

John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Corey Stahl, Midnight in Paris

John C. Reilly, Cedar Rapids

Best Cinematography
Joel Hodge, Bellflower

Darius Khondji, Midnight in Paris

Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist

Benjamin Kasulke, The Off-Hours

Jeffrey Waldron, The Dynamiter

Best Documentary
Jarreth Merz, An African Election

Richard Press, Bill Cunningham New York

Steve James, The Interrupters

David Weissman, We Were Here

Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion, The Redemption of General Butt Naked

Best Foreign Film
Asghar Farhadi, Separation

Lars Von Trier, Melancholia

Steve McQueen, Shame

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, The Kid With a Bike

Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur

Robert Altman Award
Margin Call – Director: J.C. Chandor; Casting Directors: Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey; Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Aasif Mandvi, Ashley Williams

Piaget Producers Award
Chad Burris (Mosquito y Mari)

Sophia Lynn (Take Shelter)

Josh Bond (Martha Marcy May Marlene)

Someone to Watch Award
Simon Arthur (Silver Tongues)

Mark Jackson (Without)

Nicholas Ozeki (Mamitas)

Truer Than Fiction Award
Where Soldiers Come From

Hell and Back Again

Bombay Beach