Spirited front-runners

“Ballast,” an austere drama about a grieving man who forms a bond with a woman and her young son; “Frozen River,” a somber tale about the relationship between two poverty-stricken women; and “Rachel Getting Married,” an intimate drama about a young woman confronting her demons at her sister’s nuptials, dominated the nominations for the 2009 Film Independent’s Spirit Awards on Tuesday, earning six each.

In addition to receiving a nomination for best film, “Ballast,” which was also a Sundance award winner, garnered nominations for best first screenplay and best director for Lance Hammer, best female lead for Tarra Riggs, best supporting male for JimMyron Ross and best cinematography for Lol Crawley.

“Rachel Getting Married” earned nominations for best feature, best director for Jonathan Demme, best first screenplay for Jenny Lumet, best female lead for Anne Hathaway and best supporting females for Rosemarie DeWitt and Debra Winger.

“Frozen River” also earned a best feature nomination along with nods for best first screenplay and best director for Courtney Hunt, best female lead for Melissa Leo, best supporting female for Misty Upham and best supporting male for Charlie McDermott.

Rounding out the best picture nominees were “Wendy and Lucy,” a road drama about a young woman traveling with her dog, and “The Wrestler,” a drama about an aging wrestler trying to make a comeback. Both of these films open later this month.

Joining Demme, Hammer and Hunt in the best director category were Ramin Bahrani for “Chop Shop” and Tom McCarthy for “The Visitor.”

Nominees for best screenplay were Woody Allen for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck for “Sugar,” Charlie Kaufman for “Synecdoche, New York,” Howard A. Rodman for “Savage Grace” and Christopher Zalla for “Sangre de Mi Sangre.”

In the best female lead category, Summer Bishil (“Towelhead”) and Michelle Williams (“Wendy and Lucy”) received nominations, as did Hathaway, Leo and Riggs.

Best male lead nominations went to Javier Bardem for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Richard Jenkins for “The Visitor,” Sean Penn for “Milk,” Jeremy Renner for “The Hurt Locker” and Mickey Rourke for “The Wrestler.”

Penelope Cruz for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and Rosie Perez for “The Take” rounded out the best supporting female group. James Franco for “Milk,” Anthony Mackie for “The Hurt Locker” and Haaz Sleiman for “The Visitor” also earned best supporting male nominations.

Best documentary nominations went to “The Betrayal,” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “Man on Wire,” “The Order of Myths” and “Up the Yangtze.” “The Class,” “Gomorrah,” “Hunger,” Secret of the Grain” and “Silent Light” earned nominations for best foreign film.

The Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film’s director, casting directing and ensemble cast, went to Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York.”

Film Independent’s Spirit Awards is a “celebration honoring films made by filmmakers who embody independence and who dare to challenge the status quo.”

All eligible films must be at least 70 minutes long, and the cost of the completed film -- including post-production -- must be less than $20 million. The film must have been shown in a commercial theater for at least one week this year or been screened at one of several film festivals, including Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival, Sundance and Toronto.

“We are proud again to spotlight so many outstanding films from such a diverse group of filmmakers,” said Dawn Hudson, executive director of Film Independent. “This is truly the year of original voices, among both veterans and new filmmakers.”

Since its inception in 1985, the Spirit Awards have grown in significance as part of Hollywood’s award season. Several past Spirit winners have gone on to earn Oscars, including “Juno” scribe Diablo Cody and lead actress winners Charlize Theron (“Monster”), Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”) and Hilary Swank (“Boys Don’t Cry”).

The 2009 Film Independent’s Spirit Awards ceremony will take place at a tent on the beach in Santa Monica on Feb. 21. It will air uncut and commercial-free on the Independent Film Channel at 5 p.m. An edited version will air later that evening on AMC.

For a complete list of nominees, go to www.spiritawards.com/nominees.

--

susan.king@latimes.com