he contender for top Academy Awards including best director and picture \"The Artist\" won big at the 27th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards held Saturday afternoon in Santa Monica, California, grossing four major honors including best feature. The black-and-white silent homage to the Hollywood heyday beat out \"Take Shelter,\" \"Beginners,\" \"Drive\" and \"The Descendants\" for the best feature film. It also walked away from the independent film-orientated awards ceremony with gaining best director for Michel Hazanavicius, best male lead for Jean Dujardin and best cinematography for Guillaume Schiffman. \"The Descendants,\" which is a main rival against \"The Artist\" in the leadup to the Academy Awards, whose writers including Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, received best screenplay honors. Michelle Williams, who played the iconic star Marilyn Monroe in the biopic \"My Week With Marilyn,\" was named best actress. The 31-year-old actress also won a Golden Globe for her performance and is nominated for an Academy Award for best actress. Wall Street thriller \"Margin Call\" won the award for best first feature. It was also picked to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which was given to a film\'s director, casting director and ensemble of actors. Iranian drama \"A Separation,\" directed by Asghar Farhadi and also a favorite for best foreign language film in the Academy Awards, was honored with best international film. The ceremony was held by comedian Seth Rogen.