Fox Searchlight's The Wrestler was the big winner picking up Best Feature, Male Lead and Cinematography awards at the 2009 Film Independent's Spirit Awards, which were held - as usual - in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The atmosphere at the Spirit Awards is totally casual, but earning an award at this annual event is serious business for independent filmmakers and actors. The Spirit Awards honor films made for less than $20 million and help promote independent films to a wider audience.

2009 Spirit Award Nominees and Winners

Best Feature
Ballast
Frozen River
Rachel Getting Married
Wendy and Lucy
Winner:The Wrestler
Best Director
Ramin Bahrani - Chop Shop
Jonathan Demme - Rachel Getting Married
Lance Hammer - Ballast
Courtney Hunt - Frozen River
Winner: Tom McCarthy - The Visitor

First Feature
Afterschool
Medicine for Melancholy
Sangre De Mi Sangre
Sleep Dealer
Winner:Synecdoche, New York

Male Lead
Javier Bardem - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Sean Penn - Milk
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
Winner: Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Female Lead
Summer Bishil - Towelhead
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Tarra Riggs - Ballast
Michelle Williams - Wendy and Lucy
Winner: Melissa Leo - Frozen River

Supporting Male
Anthony Mackie - The Hurt Locker
Charlie McDermott - Frozen River
Jim Myron Ross - Ballast
Haaz Sleiman - The Visitor
Winner: James Franco - Milk

Supporting Female
Rosemarie DeWitt - Rachel Getting Married
Rosie Perez - The Take
Misty Upham - Frozen River
Debra Winger - Rachel Getting Married
Winner: Penélope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Screenplay
Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck - Sugar
Charlie Kaufman - Synecdoche, New York
Howard A Rodman - Savage Grace
Christopher Zalla - Sangre De Mi Sangre
Winner: Woody Allen - Vicky Cristina Barcelona

First Screenplay
Lance Hammer - Ballast
Courtney Hunt - Frozen River
Jonathan Levine - The Wackness
Jenny Lumet - Rachel Getting Married
Winner: Dustin Lance Black - Milk

Cinematography
Lol Crawley - Ballast
James Laxton - Medicine for Melancholy
Harris Savides - Milk
Michael Simmonds - Chop Shop
Winner: Maryse Alberti - The Wrestler

Foreign Film
Gomorra
Secret of the Grain
Hunger
Silent Light
Winner:The Class

Best Documentary
The Order of Myths
Up the Yangtze
Encounters at the End of the World
The Betrayal
Winner:Man on Wire

Robert Altman Award
Director Charlie Kaufman and the cast of Synecdoche, New York