'Winter's Bone' up for seven Spirit Awards

The nominations for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced, and while the competition is stiff, Gotham Independent Film Awards best feature winner "Winter's Bone" is up for more than a handful.

The film, about a young woman's search through dangerous territory for her drug-pushing dad, is up for seven nods including best feature, which is stockpiled with some of the most talked about films this year: "The Kids Are All Right,” “Black Swan,” “127 Hours” and "Greenberg” are “Winter’s Bone's" competition.

Newly-minted Oscar host James Franco still has to wait and see if he'll be up for an Oscar, but he is up for a Spirit Award in the best male lead category for his role in "127 Hours." He faces competition from Ben Stiller for "Greenberg" and Aaron Eckhart for "Rabbit Hole," among others.

Meanwhile, Natalie Portman's turn in "Black Swan" earned her a best female lead nomination, and she'll be facing off against actresses like Annette Bening (“The Kids Are All Right”), Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole") and Michelle Williams ("Blue Valentine").

The Spirit Awards, which honors the best in independent film, will be held on Saturday, February 26. Check out a list of nominees after the jump. Who are you pulling for?

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky – “Black Swan”
Danny Boyle – “127 Hours”
Lisa Cholodenko – “The Kids Are All Right”
Debra Granik – “Winter’s Bone”
John Cameron Mitchell – “Rabbit Hole”

Best Screenplay

Stuart Blumberg & Lisa Cholodenko –
“The Kids Are All Right”
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini – “Winter’s Bone”
Nicole Holofcener – “Please Give”
David Lindsay-Abaire – “Rabbit Hole”
Todd Solondz – “Life During Wartime”

Best Female Lead

Annette Bening – “The Kids Are All Right”
Greta Gerwig – “Greenberg”
Nicole Kidman – “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman – “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams – “Blue Valentine”

Best Male Lead

Ronald Bronstein – “Daddy Longlegs”
Aaron Eckhart – “Rabbit Hole”
James Franco – “127 Hours”
John C. Reilly – “Cyrus”
Ben Stiller – “Greenberg”

Best Supporting Female

Ashley Bell – “The Last Exorcism”
Dale Dickey – “Winter’s Bone”
Allison Janney – “Life During Wartime”
Daphne Rubin-Vega – “Jack Goes Boating”
Naomi Watts – “Mother and Child”

Best Supporting Male

John Hawkes – “Winter’s Bone”
Samuel L. Jackson – “Mother and Child”
Bill Murray – “Get Low”
John Ortiz – “Jack Goes Boating”
Mark Ruffalo – “The Kids Are All Right”

Best Documentary (award given to the director)

“Exit Through the Gift Shop”
Director: Banksy
“Marwencol”
Director: Jeff Malmberg
“Sweetgrass”
Directors: Ilisa Barbash & Lucien Castaing-Taylor
“Restrepo”
Directors: Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger
“Thunder Soul”
Director: Mark Landsman

Best Foreign Film
(Award given to the director)

“Kisses” (Ireland)
Director: Lance Daly
“Mademoiselle Chambon” (France)
Director: Stéphane Brizé
“Of Gods and Men” (Morocco)
Director: Xavier Beauvois
“The King’s Speech” (United Kingdom)
Director: Tom Hooper
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”
(Thailand)
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Best Cinematography

Adam Kimmel – “Never Let Me Go”
Matthew Libatique – “Black Swan”
Jody Lee Lipes – “Tiny Furniture”
Michael McDonough – “Winter’s Bone”
Harris Savides – “Greenberg”

To see the rest of the nominees, visit SpiritAwards.com.