The film award season has gotten under way this morning with the announcement of the 22nd Annual Spirit Awards. Presented by the non-profit group Film Independent, their members vote on the winners. Those wishing to add their voice to the outcome can join the group by December 1. The awards will be handed out on February 23, 2008 under a large tent on the beach in Santa Monica Beach. It will be telecast on IFC at 5:00 p.m. EST and an edited rebroadcast will air on AMC at 10:00 p.m.

The Best Feature nominees are Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who endures such a massive stroke his left eye is the only thing not paralyzed; Todd Haynes’ I'm Not There, a pseudo-biography of a few of the personae of Bob Dylan; Juno, a black comedy about teen pregnancy; A Mighty Heart, the true story of Mariane Pearl, whose husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl, was killed by terrorists in 2002; and Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park, a drama about a Portland skateboarder and his involvement in a security guard’s death.

Out of the five films, A Mighty Heart is the only Best Feature nominee which didn’t have its director, Michael Winterbottom, nominated for Best Director. The Savages’ Tamara Jenkins took that spot.

The nominees are:

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik

I'm Not There
Producers: Christine Vachon, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, James D. Stern

Juno
Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith

A Mighty Heart
Producers: Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton, Brad Pitt

Paranoid Park
Producers: Neil Kopp, David Cress

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes
I'm Not There

Tamara Jenkins
The Savages

Jason Reitman
Juno

Julian Schnabel
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Gus Van Sant
Paranoid Park

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