Nominations forthe 2006 Independent Spirit Awards will be unveiled on Nov 29 ahead of theawards show on Mar 4 2006.

Film Independentexecutive director Dawn Hudson announced that nomination guidelines have beenmodified this year to raise the budget ceiling to $20m for all eligible titles,following controversy last year over the eligibility of Sideways which cost some $16.5m to produce andthe exclusion of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind which cost around $20m.

"The FilmIndependent board of directors felt that a $20m ceiling gave the committee widelatitude in choosing original, provocative films that are still made with an 'economyof means,'" Hudson said.

"The mandate remains the same for the members of thenominating committee, but this new limit further clarifies which films fit theSpirit Awards guidelines."

The deadline forsubmissions for the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards closes on Oct 14. Votersattend nominee screenings and for the second consecutive year Film Independentis partnering with the online rental service Netflix to distribute screenertapes to voters.