Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced today that Joel McHale, star of NBC’s Community, will serve as host for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards.  The 26th edition of the awards will be held at the beach in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 26 at 2:00 p.m.  The ceremony will air exclusively on IFC in primetime on February 26 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Nominees will be revealed on November 30th by Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner.