The 2009 Independent Spirit Awards celebrates the highest-achievements in independent films. It has been compared to the Oscars for indie films. The award show will be broadcasted live and uncut on IFC on February 21st at 5 p.m. ET/ 2 p.m. PT. It will then be rebroadcasted on AMC at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

And the Nominees Are: (The winners are in bold.)

Best Feature

• Ballast - Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh
• Frozen River - Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae
• Rachel Getting Married - Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt
• Wendy and Lucy - Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani
• The Wrestler - 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

• Afterschool - Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Josh Mond
• Medicine for Melancholy - Barry Jenkins, Justin Barber
• Sangre De Mi Sangre - Christopher Zalla, Per Melita, Benjamin Odell
• Sleep Dealer - Alex Rivera, Anthony Bregman
• Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman, Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel

John Cassavetes Award

• In Search of a Midnight Kiss - Alex Holdridge, Seth Caplan, Scoot McNairy
• Prince of Broadway - Sean Baker, Darren Dean
• The Signal - David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry, Alexander Motlagh
• Take Out - Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou
• Turn the River - Chris Eigeman, Ami Armstrong

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

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

• Penélope 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 Foreign Film

• The Class - Laurent Cantet
• Gomorra - Matteo Garrone
• Hunger - Steve McQueen
• Secret of the Grain - Abdellatif Kechiche
• Silent Light - Carlos Reygadas

Best Documentary

• The Betrayal - Ellen Kuras & Thavisouk Phrasavath
• Encounters at the End of the World - Werner Herzog
• Man on Wire - James Marsh
• The Order of Myths - Margaret Brown
• Up the Yangtze - Yung Chang

Best Cinematography

• Maryse Alberti - The Wrestler
• Lol Crawley - Ballast
• James Laxton - Medicine for Melancholy
• Harris Savides - Milk
• Michael Simmonds - Chop Shop

Robert Altman Award

• Charlie Kaufman (Director), Jeanne McCarthy (Casting Director), Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams - Synecdoche, New York

Piaget Producers Award

• Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy - Treeless Mountain, I'll Come Running
• Jason Orans - Goodbye Solo, Year of the Fish
• Heather Rae - Frozen River, Ibid

Acura Someone to Watch Award

• Barry Jenkins - Medicine for Melancholy
• Nina Paley - Sita Sings the Blues
• Lynn Shelton - My Effortless Brilliance

Lacoste Truer Than Fiction Award

• Margaret Brown - The Order of Myths
• Sacha Gervasi - Anvil! The Story of Anvil
• Darius Marder - Loot

—Jessica Delli Santi