The 2001 IFP/West Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, with winners to be unveiled at the Spirit Awards on March 23.

Films nominated were selected based on criteria such as original, provocative subject matter, uniqueness of vision, economy of means and percentage of independent financing. Among this year's nominating committee were New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell, directors Vondie Curtis Hall and Miguel Arteta and actress Parker Posey. Winners are voted on by the national Independent Feature Project membership of about 9,000.

Nominees for the Someone To Watch award, recognising a film-maker who was not yet received appropriate recognition, are Debra Eisendstadt (Daydream Believer), DeMane Davis & Khari Streeter (Lift), Michael Gilio (Kwik Stop) and David Maquiling (Too Much Sleep).

Finalists for the DIRECTV/IFC Truer Than Fiction Award for an emerging director of non-fiction features are: Edet Belzberg for Children Underground, Sandi Simcha Dubowski for Trembling Before G-d, BZ Goldberg, Carlos Bolado & Justine Shapiro for Promises, Alix Lambert for The Mark Of Cain and Monteith McCollum for Hybrid.

The finalists for the Motorola Producers Award honoring film-makers who demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films are Rene Bastian & Linda Moran, producers of Martin And Orloff and L.I.E., Adrienne Gruben, producer of Treasure Island and Olympia, Jasmine Kosovic, producer of Just One Time and The Adventures Of Sebastian Cole, and Nadia Leonelli, producer of Acts Of Worship and Perfume.

2001 IFP/WEST INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS

Best Feature (award given to the producer)
Hedwig And The Angry Inch (Christine Vachon, Katie Roumel & Pamela Koffler)
L.I.E. (Rene Bastian, Linda Moran & Michael Cuesta)
Memento (Jennifer Todd & Suzanne Todd)
Things Behind The Sun (Daniel Hassid, Doug Mankoff & Robin Alper)
Waking Life (Anne Walker-McBay, Tommy Pallotta, Palmer West & Jonah Smith)

Best Director
Michael Cuesta L.I.E.
Cheryl Dunye Stranger Inside
Richard Linklater Waking Life
John Cameron Mitchell Hedwig & The Angry Inch
Christopher Nolan Memento

Best Screenplay
Milo Addica & Will Rokos Monster's Ball
Henry Bean The Believer
Rob Festinger & Todd Field In The Bedroom
Richard Linklater Waking Life
Christopher Nolan Memento

Best First Feature (award given to the director)
The Anniversary Party (Jennifer Jason Leigh & Alan Cumming)
The Believer (Henry Bean)
Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly)
Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff)
In The Bedroom (Todd Field)

Best First Screenplay
Daniel Clowes & Terry Zwigoff Ghost World
Richard Kelly Donnie Darko
Jennifer Jason Leigh & Alan Cumming The Anniversary Party
John Cameron Mitchell Hedwig & The Angry Inch
Stephen M Ryder, Michael Cuesta & Gerald Cuesta L.I.E.

John Cassavetes Award for the best feature made under $500,000 (award given to the writer, producer & director)
Acts Of Worship
Jackpot
Kaaterskill Falls
Punks
Virgil Bliss

Best Debut Performance
Paul Franklin Dano L.I.E.
Ana Reeder Acts of Worship
Clint Jordan Virgil Bliss
Yolonda Ross Stranger Inside
Ensemble (Hilary Howard, Anthony Leslie & Mitchell Riggs) Kaaterskill Falls

Best Supporting Female
Davenia McFadden Stranger Inside
Carrie-Anne Moss Memento
Summer Phoenix The Believer
Tamara Tunie The Caveman's Valentine
Uma Thurman Tape

Best Supporting Male
Steve Buscemi Ghost World
Don Cheadle Things Behind The Sun
Billy Kay L.I.E.
Garrett Morris Jackpot
John C Reilly The Anniversary Party

Best Female Lead
Kim Dickens Things Behind the Sun
Molly Parker The Center of the World
Sissy Spacek In the Bedroom
Tilda Swinton The Deep End
Kerry Washington Lift

Best Male Lead
Brian Cox L.I.E.
Ryan Gosling The Believer
Jake Gyllenhaal Donnie Darko
John Cameron Mitchell Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Tom Wilkinson In The Bedroom

Best Cinematography
Frank G. DeMarco Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Peter Deming Mulholland Drive
W. Mott Hupfel III The American Astronaut
Giles Nuttgens The Deep End
Wally Pfister Memento

Best Foreign Film
Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu)
Lumumba (Raoul Peck)
Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer)
Together (Lukas Moodysson)

Best Documentary
Dogtown and Z-Boys (Stacy Peralta)
Go Tigers! (Kenneth A. Carlson)
Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton (Susan Froemke, Deborah Dickson & Albert Maysles)
Promises (Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg & Carlos Bolado)
Scratch (Doug Pray)