It's rare that for every ominous sign in the film world that a day like today comes along, grabs us by the lapels of our coats and throws us headlong into a goldmine of excellent developments. But that's why before the Oscars have a chance to come and sour our taste buds with their heavily politicized lists, there's the Independent Spirit Awards, the bizarro-world Oscars, where little-seen films are given their dues. And while all anyone seems to be rasping, in the indie circuit or otherwise is, "Myyyy Precioussss ..." this year's list of Spirit Award hopefuls offers a promising glimpse into some dark horses that could gain significant ground by the time Oscar nominations are released, thereby cutting short Precious' time in the hearts of critics. A few post-Precious picks after the jump.

Every year, on the eve of the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards go down in Santa Monica in a tent near the beach. The Spirit Awards do a great job of pretty much awarding all the films Academy members don't feel okay about voting for, either because they're not mainstream enough/didn't make enough money, or because they're going to give said films the "indie consolation prize," aka, the Best Original Screenplay award. Either way, they have far more fun at their ceremony than the Academy ever will at the Oscars. The ongoing tradition of the Spirit Awards that really makes it worth watching though (besides the inevitably profanity-laced acceptance speeches) are the musical numbers: all of the films nominated for Best Independent Feature get sing-along numbers performed by special presenters at the live ceremony. And this year's best of the crop was, naturally, Rainn Wilson's take on The Wrestler.