AceShowbiz -

Film Independent President Josh Welsh announced on Tuesday, November 10 morning that Jessica Chastain was appointed the honorary chair at 31st Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards. The actress had been nominated for two Spirit awards in 2012 and 2015 for "Take Shelter" and "A Most Violent Year" respectively.

"We're so honored to have Jessica as our honorary chair at this year's Spirit Awards," Welsh said in a statement. "As a past Spirit Award nominee and someone whose work as an actor and producer embodies the qualities we celebrate at Film Independent, I can't think of a more suitable honorary chair for this exciting celebration of artist-driven filmmaking."

Chastain follows in the footsteps of previous chair holders such as Kerry Washington, Tom Cruise, Benicio Del Toro and Angela Bassett.

At the same time, Welsh revealed that John Boyega and Elizabeth Olsen would announce the nominees for 2016 awards. "Our press conference hosts are also great friends of Film Independent," Welsh said. "John Boyega's 'Attack the Block' had a Gala presentation at the L.A. Film Festival in 2011, and Olsen is a past Spirit Award nominee for 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' [in 2012]."

They will unveil the contenders for such categories as Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay at a press conference that will take place November 24 at 10 A.M. at the W Hotel in Hollywood. The 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast live on February 27 at 2 P.M. PT on IFC.