"The Artist" Tops the Independent Spirit Awards

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).

Best Supporting Female Performance: Shailene Woodley (The Descendants). Nominated: Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter), Anjelica Huston (50/50), Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) and Harmony Santana (Gun Hill Road).

John Cassavetes Award, presented to a film made for under $500,000: Pariah. Nominated: Bellflower, Circumstance, Hello Lonesome,  and The Dynamiter.

Best Documentary: The Interrupters. Nominated: An African Election, Bill Cunningham New York, The Redemption of General Butt Naked and We Were Here.

Best International Film: A Separation. Nominated: Melancholia, Shame, The Kid With a Bike and Tyrannosaur.

Best Cinematography: Guillaume Shiffman (The Artist). Nominated: Joel Hodge (Bellflower), Benjamin Kasulke (The Off Hours), Darius Kondji (Midnight in Paris) and Jeffrey Waldron (The Dynamiter).

Best Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (The Descendants). Nominated: Joseph Cedar (Footnote), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Tom McCarthy (Win Win) and Mike Mills (Beginners).

Best First Screenplay: Will Reiser (50/50). Nominated: Mike Cahill and Brit Marling (Another Earth), JC Chandor (Margin Call), Patrick DeWitt (Terri) and Phil Johnston (Cedar Rapids).

Truer Than Fiction Award: Heather Courtney (Where Soldiers Come From). Nominated: Danfung Dennis (Hell and Back Again) and Alma Har'El (Bombay Beach).

Someone to Watch Award: Mark Jackson (Without). Nominated: Simon Arthur (Silver Tongues) and Nicholas Ozeki (Mamitas).

Piaget Producers Award: Sophia Lin (Take Shelter). Nominated: Chad Burris (Mosquita y Mari),  and Josh Mond (Martha Marcy May Marlene).

 And the Robert Altman Award for one film's director, casting director and ensemble goes to Margin Call.

Update, 2/17: Viewing (15'35"). Seth Rogen's opening monologue.

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