For the last couple of years, it is becoming increasingly harder to tell the indies from the majors. When a truly indie film like LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE may just win the Best Picture Oscar race on Sunday evening, the distinctions leave those in and out of the industry just a little bit confused. So, let's just do away with labels and appreciate the films that made the strongest impressions, and leave our dictionaries at the door.

The 2007 Film Independent’s Spirit Awards ceremony airs live on Saturday, February 24, beginning at 5:00 pm EST on the Independent Film Channel. Live red carpet footage will precede the show starting at 4:30 pm EST on WE tv, and an edited re-broadcast of the ceremony will air later that evening on American Movie Classics. Actress/comedienne Sarah Silverman will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the second year in a row.

A list of nominees follows, and we will report the winners in a special Saturday posting. In addition to the winners in competitive categories, Film Independent, the Los Angeles-based professional association that sponsors the event, will be honoring director David Lynch and actress Laura Dern with a Special Distinction Award for their collaborative work on three of Lynch's films, BLUE VELVET, WILD AT HEART and the recent INLAND EMPIRE.

INDEPENDENT SPIRT AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST FEATURE

American Gun
Producer: Ted Kroeber

The Dead Girl
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Henry Winterstern, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, Eric Karten, Kevin Turen

Half Nelson
Producers: Jamie Patricof, Alex Orlovsky, Lynette Howell, Anna Boden, Rosanne Korenberg

Little Miss Sunshine
Producers: Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa

Pan’s Labyrinth
Producers: Bertha Navarro, Alfonso Cuarón, Frida Torresblanco, Alvaro Augustin, Guillermo Del Toro


BEST DIRECTOR

Robert Altman
A Prairie Home Companion

Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
Little Miss Sunshine

Ryan Fleck
Half Nelson

Karen Moncrieff
The Dead Girl

Steven Soderbergh
Bubble


BEST FIRST FEATURE

Day Night Day Night
Director: Julia Loktev
Producers: Julia Loktev, Melanie Judd, Jessica Levin

Man Push Cart
Director: Ramin Bahrani
Producers: Ramin Bahrani, Pradip Ghosh, Bedford T. Bentley III

The Motel
Director: Michael Kang
Producers: Matthew Greenfield, Miguel Arteta, Gina Kwon, Karin Chien

Sweet Land
Director: Ali Selim Producers: Alan Cumming, James Bigham, Ali Selim

Wristcutters: A Love Story
Director: Goran Dukic
Producers: Adam Sherman, Chris Coen, Tatiana Kelly, Mikal P. Lazarev

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

Chalk
Director: Mike Akel Producers: Mike Akel, Angie Alvarez, Graham Davidson, Chris Mass Writers: Chris Mass & Mike Akel

Four Eyed Monsters
Writer/Director/Producers: Arin Crumley & Susan Buice

Old Joy
Director: Kelly Reichardt Producers: Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Anish Savjani, Neil Kopp Writers: Jon Raymond & Kelly Reichardt

Quinceanera
Writer/Directors: Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland Producer: Anne Clements

Twelve and Holding
Director: Michael Cuesta Producers: Leslie Urdang, Michael Cuesta, Brian Bell, Jenny Schweitzer Writer: Anthony S. Cipriano


BEST SCREENPLAY

Neil Burger
The Illusionist



Nicole Holofcener
Friends with Money



Ron Nyswaner
The Painted Veil



Jason Reitman
Thank You For Smoking



Jeff Stanzler
Sorry, Haters


BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Michael Arndt
Little Miss Sunshine


Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
Half Nelson


Goran Dukic
Wristcutters: A Love Story


Dito Montiel
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints


Gabrielle Zevin
Conversations with Other Women


BEST FEMALE LEAD

Shareeka Epps
Half Nelson



Catherine O’Hara
For Your Consideration



Elizabeth Reaser
Sweet Land



Michelle Williams
Land of Plenty



Robin Wright Penn
Sorry, Haters


BEST MALE LEAD

Aaron Eckhart
Thank You For Smoking



Ryan Gosling
Half Nelson



Edward Norton
The Painted Veil



Ahmad Razvi
Man Push Cart



Forest Whitaker
American Gun


BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Melonie Diaz
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints



Marcia Gay Harden
American Gun



Mary Beth Hurt
The Dead Girl



Frances McDormand
Friends with Money



Amber Tamblyn
Stephanie Daley


BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Alan Arkin
Little Miss Sunshine



Raymond J. Barry
Steel City



Daniel Craig
Infamous



Paul Dano
Little Miss Sunshine



Channing Tatum
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Arin Crumley
Four Eyed Monsters



Anthony Dod Mantle
Brothers of the Head



Guillermo Navarro
Pan’s Labyrinth



Aaron Platt
Wild Tigers I Have Known



Michael Simmonds
Man Push Cart


BEST DOCUMENTARY

A Lion in the House
Directors: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert



My Country, My Country
Director: Laura Poitras



The Road to Guantanamo
Directors: Michael Winterbottom & Mat Whitecross



The Trials of Darryl Hunt
Directors: Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern



You’re Gonna Miss Me
Director: Keven McAlester


BEST FOREIGN FILM

12:08 East of Bucharest (Romania)
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu



The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (Philippines)
Director: Auraeus Solito



Chronicle of an Escape (Argentina)
Director: Israel Adrián Caetano



Days of Glory (France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium)
Director: Rachid Bouchareb



The Lives of Others (Germany)
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck


SPECIAL AWARDS - IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award

So Yong Kim
director of In Between Days


Julia Loktev
director of Day Night Day Night


Richard Wong
director of Colma: The Musical

SPECIAL AWARDS - Axium Truer Than Fiction Award

Adele Horne
The Tailenders


Eric Daniel Metzgar
The Chances of the World Changing


AJ Schnack
Kurt Cobain About A Son

SPECIAL AWARDS - Axium Producers Award

Julie Lynn
producer of Nine Lives and 10 Items or Less


Alex Orlovsky and Jamie Patricof
producers of Half Nelson and Point & Shoot


Howard Gertler and Tim Perell
producers of Shortbus and Pizza

Sandy Mandelberger, Awards Watch Editor