The Nominations For the Spirit Awards — aka the Indie Oscars — Are Here

Carol is leading the pack of Spirit Award nominations this year, scoring nods for its two female leads, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. In case you're unfamiliar, the Spirit Awards are given for excellence in independent films, and the ceremony is always held the night before the Oscars. This year, it's taking place on Saturday, Feb. 27. Spotlight is actually already a winner, but the big story is that Netflix's Beasts of No Nation is nominated five times. That's great news for the film, which notoriously bombed at the box office this year. Take a look at the nominations below, and brace yourself: award season is here.

BEST FEATURE

Anomalisa

Beasts of No Nation

Carol

Spotlight

Tangerine

BEST FIRST FEATURE (award given to the director and producer)

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

James White

Manos Sucias

Mediterranea

Songs My Brothers Taught Me

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (given to the best feature made for under $500,000)

Advantageous

Christmas, Again

Heaven Knows What

Krisha

Out of My Hand

BEST DIRECTOR

Sean Baker, Tangerine

Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation

Todd Haynes, Carol

Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa

Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

David Robert Mitchell, It Follows

BEST SCREENPLAY

Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa

Donald Margulies, The End of the Tour

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight

Phyllis Nagy, Carol

S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Jonas Carpignano, Mediterranea

Emma Donoghue, Room

Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl

John Magary (story by Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph), The Mend

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Rooney Mara, Carol

Bel Powley, Diary of a Teenage Girl

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine

BEST MALE LEAD

Christopher Abbott, James White

Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation

Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind

Jason Segel, The End of the Tour

Koudous Seihon, Mediterranea

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Robin Bartlett, H.

Marin Ireland, Glass Chin

Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa

Cynthia Nixon, James White

Mya Taylor, Tangerine

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Kevin Corrigan, Results

Paul Dano, Love & Mercy

Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation

Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk

Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Beasts of No Nation

It Follows

Carol

Meadowlnad

Songs My Brothers Taught Me

BEST FILM EDITING

Heaven Knows What

Spotlight

Room

It Follows

Manos Sucias

BEST DOCUMENTARY

(T)error

Best of Enemies

Heart of Dog

The Look of Silence

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia)

Girlhood (France)

Mustang (France, Turkey)

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden)

Son of Saul (Hungary)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (given to one film's director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)

Spotlight

18TH ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD

Darren Dean

Mel Eslyn

Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith

KIEHL'S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

Chloé Zhao

Felix Thompson

Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck

21ST ANNUAL LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

Among the Believers

Incorruptible

A Woman Like Me