The 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards returns to its traditional Saturday afternoon on February 25, 2012, in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, to air later that evening at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on IFC. The 2012 Spirit Award nominees will be announced on Tuesday, November 29.

Last year’s host was comedian and actor Joel McHale, with major winners including Fox Searchlight’s Black Swan, which won Best Feature, Best Director, Best Female Lead, and Best Cinematography; Roadside Attractions’ Winter’s Bone, which won Best Supporting Female and Best Supporting Male; Focus Features’ The Kids Are All Right, which won Best Screenplay; Fox Searchlight’s 127 Hours, which won Best Male Lead; Weinstein Company’s The King’s Speech, which won Best Foreign Film; Sony Pictures Classic’s Get Low, which won Best First Feature; IFC Films’ Tiny Furniture, which won Best First Screenplay; Producers Distribution Agency’s Exit Through the Gift Shop, which won Best Documentary; and IFC Films’ Daddy Longlegs, which won the John Cassavetes Award.