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The nominations for this year's Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning, and the little-known independent film "Winter's Bone" lead with a total of seven nominations followed by "The Kids Are All Right" with five. Although these do not usually have too much of a bearing on the Oscars, they do give some particular films and actors/actresses the small boost they might need for award season.

"127 Hours," "Black Swan," "Greenberg," "The Kids Are All Right" and "Winter's Bone" were the nominations for Best Feature. I'm placing my bets on "Winter's Bone" to take the top prize here though it could just as easily go to "The Kids Are All Right" or even "127 Hours" and "Black Swan."

It's curious to note that "The King's Speech" was nominated under the category of Foreign Film perhaps because it is based in the UK.

Nods for Best Director went to Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," Danny Boyle for "127 Hours," Lisa Cholodenko for "The Kids Are All Right," Debra Granik for "Winter's Bone" and John Cameron Mitchell for "Rabbit Hole." Again, I see Granik taking the prize here.

The category of Best Female Lead got extended to six nominations as opposed to the usual five. It is clear that powerful female performances outweigh the male ones this year. The nominees included Annette Beining for "The Kids Are All Right," Greta Gerwig for "Greenberg," Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine." Again, I see another win for "Winter's Bone" with Lawrence's breakout performance.

Though Michelle Williams got nominated for "Blue Valentine," the film got snubbed everywhere else. Is this thanks to the MPAA's NC-17 rating?

The Best Male Lead nominees were Ronald Bronstein for "Daddy Longlegs," Aaron Eckhart for "Rabbit Hole," James Franco for "127 Hours," John C. Reilly for "Cyrus" and Ben Stiller for "Greenberg." I can't see anyone but Franco taking the win here.

Those are the most notable nominees, but here is a full list of nominations for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

The 2011 Spirit Awards ceremony airs on Saturday, February 26, 2011.