What do you do when your kudos are called the Independent Spirit Awards but the studios have come to dominate the nominations? You create a category for features that cost less than half a mill and name it for indie icon John Cassavetes. That is just the latest quirk in the 23-year history of these decidedly offbeat awards. And with these honors due to be handed out Saturday (live on IFC and taped delay on AMC), now is a good time to take a closer look at them.

The nominations were announced almost three months ago — on Nov. 27 — so you are forgiven if you have forgotten who and what is in the running. Four films lead the pack with four nods apiece: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "I'm Not There," "Juno," and "The Savages." The $20-million budget cap kept indie-spirited films like "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" out of this race. (Without this rule, rival kudos, the Gotham Awards, gave the Sean Penn-helmed adventure "Into the Wild" their best film prize last fall.) And as only movies made with Yankee dollars are eligible, French language "Diving Bell" was in while Canuck contender "Away From Her" was out.

As per the organizers, Film Independent, the 14 people on the nominating committee were looking for: "(1) uniqueness of vision; (2) original, provocative subject matter; (3) economy of means; and (4) percentage of financing from independent sources." In addition, there was a seven-person documentary committee and a nine-member foreign feature panel, neither of whose choices matched up with the eventual Oscar contenders. Winners were decided by the general membership of FIND, with voting privileges available for as little as $95 a year in dues. The Gothams and Spirits used to be bestowed by the East and West Coast branches of the same organization, the Independent Feature Project, but a few years back, the Californians broke off from New York and three other IFP groups.

The awards ceremony takes place under a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. While it is mere miles from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, home to Sunday night's Oscars, it is a world away. There are no stylists, no orchestra to play you off as you ramble on with your acceptance speech, and, infamously, no toilets. As Variety once reported : "Many celebrities mused that they could think of no other Hollywood awards show where the guests had to wait in line for Porta Potties while facing hordes of autograph-seeking fans."

Among the bold-faced names expected are best-actress nominee Angelina Jolie ("A Mighty Heart") and her consort Brad Pitt who is nommed for producing the film. While "No Country" was not eligible, its kudos king Javier Bardem is due to present. Hosting the festivities will be "The Office" star Rainn Wilson, who told Christy Lemire of AP earlier this week, "It's kind of a ramshackle, crazy awards show that's really about cutting-edge cinema, and it's really for movie fans and actor fans."

Though foreign-financed films are ineligible for most races, likely winners include Canada's Ellen Page ("Juno") for best actress and Aussie Cate Blanchett ("I'm Not There") for supporting actress. None of their Oscar competition is in the running here. Best actor could well be "The Savages" star Philip Seymour Hoffman who picked up the same prize two years ago for "Capote." His "Savages" costar Laura Linney was nominated then for "The Squid and the Whale" but surprisingly snubbed this year. However, being left off that list put her on Oscar's radar.