Spirit Awards

Spirit Awards 2016: Inside the Independents' Alternative Oscars

Anne Thompson — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 21:57:52 GMT

"Spotlight" took home five wins at the Spirit Awards Saturday, the annual indie alternative to the Oscars voted on by members of Film Independent.

"Spotlight" won Best Feature, Director (Tom McCarthy), Screenplay (McCarthy & Josh Singer), Editing (Tom McArdle, his fifth film with McCarthy) and Ensemble. This feat is unlikely to be repeated on Oscar night, where the movie is in the running for Best Picture in a hotly contested race and Original Screenplay, which it is favored to win. So it was a sweet win for the filmmakers and backers Participant Media, Anonymous Content producers Steve Golin and Michael Sugar, and indie distributor Open Road, which has shown Hollywood it can muster a robust awards campaign. In one of several acceptance speeches, McCarthy said that the industry needs indie companies like Open Road, which back risky movies like "Spotlight"—without knowing what the end result might be.

For once, the indies went indie, although "Spotlight" and "Room" Best Actress Brie Larson's wins fulfilled the usual expectation that low-budget Oscar frontrunners usually seize the Spirits. ("Boyhood" and "Birdman" split the Spirit Awards last year.) Gob-smacking "Spotlight" star Michael Keaton, who won for "Birdman" last year, presented Best Actress to Larson and reminded the crowd that "by the way, Jacob Tremblay is 47 years old. I'd just like to keep things in perspective." Larson, who will likely repeat her win at the Oscars, told the Spirits attendees: "I'm so excited to be in the room with such brave filmmakers," reminding that it was her breakout role in indie "Short Term 12" that led to "Room."

Best First Screenplay went to Irish Canadian Emma Donoghue, also Oscar-nominated for A24's "Room," who movingly thanked her partner and mother of her two children as well as director Lenny Abrahamson, who she described as "the Gandalf to her Bilbo."

While transgender actress Harmony Santana was nominated for a Spirit for 2011 release "Gun Hill Road," Mya Taylor's Supporting Female win for Sean Baker's "Tangerine" (Magnolia) marked the first in Spirit history. Taylor told her transgender colleagues to "keep pushing," reminding that she applied for 186 jobs two years ago to no avail."Am I going to trip on this long-ass dress coming up here?" she said while accepting her award. "I came from almost nothing. My life did a total 360...There is very beautiful transgender talent. You gotta get out there and put it in your next movie!" (Watch her acceptance speech here.)

Diminutive Abraham Attah took Male Lead for his first acting role, and his costar Idris Elba Supporting Male for "Beasts of No Nation." Before Attah's win, just in case, Elba brought him onstage to say:"I couldn't have done it without you."

(Watch my video interview with Idris Elba here.)

Outdoors during the frenetic pre-show networking phase and inside the huge Santa Monica tent (where wine and Maker's Mark flowed), among the industry players on hand were Netflix content czar Ted Sarandos (who paid $12 million for all rights to "Beasts of No Nation") and the Amazon film team of Ted Hope and Bob Berney (who recently landed Woody Allen's next movie),along with old-school distributors Nancy Utley and Steve Gilula of Fox Searchlight ("Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"),Harvey Weinstein ("Carol") andTom Bernard and Michael Barker of Sony Pictures Classics.

Their pickups "Son of Saul" and "The Diary of a Teenage Girl" took home trophies for International Film and First Feature, respectively. "The grammar of film has not stopped evolving," said rookie Hungarian director Lazlo Nemes, who is favored to win Sunday, "and it's something we wanted to explore."

Without competition from big-scale Oscar contenders "The Revenant" and "The Big Short," folks like venerated indie cinematographer Ed Lachman, who shot "Carol" in 16 mm, could score a Spirit win—and a standing ovation. "Awards are always unfair if you win or if you lose," said Lachman, who thanked director Todd Haynes, "who always inspires me and pushes me." This could prove a welcome award for "Carol," which is not favored to win any of its six chances at an Oscar.

Similarly, without Brit contender "Amy" in the mix, Joshua Oppenheimer won Documentary for "The Look of Silence" (Drafthouse), his sequel to his Oscar-nominated Indonesia genocide doc "The Act of Killing." Alas, his acceptance remarks were cut off for time. (Read his speech here.)

The John Cassavetes Spirit Award for films budgeted under $500,000 went to fest fave "Krisha," which was "a family affair," said director Trey Edward Shultz, who shot the film in nine days at his mother's house. (A24 opens the film March 18.)

"The Spirit Awards honor the movies you meant to see," declared co-hosts Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani, among the best "Spirits" entertainers so far. McKinnon did a dead-on imitation of Cate Blanchett's "Carol," described as the most compelling movie about lost gloves since O.J. Simpson, and they both nailed the "Room" opener as mother and "son." My favorite bit was McKinnon's impersonation of an oafish Kickstarter employee ("Anomalisa" was the first Best Feature nominee backed by the crowdfunder): "I wanted to day drink in Santa Monica and meet Paul Dano," she said before going over to plant a wet one on the "Love & Mercy" nominee; his reaction was priceless. (Watch Spirit Award clips here.)

READ MORE: 20 Kickstarter-Funded Films Earned Indie Spirit Nominations This Year

Go backstage with the Spirit winners here.

After the award ceremony, many of the folks in the tent sashayed over to 41 Ocean for "45 Years" distributor IFC's jovial annual post-Spirits party hosted by Jonathan Sehring, where the co-hosts celebrated with winner Marielle Heller, "Tangerine" director Sean Baker, "Mediterranea" producers Chris and Eleanor Columbus, "45 Years" writer-director Andrew Haigh, "Anomalisa" directors Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman, "The End of the Tour" screenwriter Donald Margulies, Ed Pressman, Ryan Werner, John Sloss, Sarah Silverman, Juno Temple, Chris Abbott, Aisha Tyler, Jess Weixler, Josh Mond, Reed Morano, David Call, Antonio Campos, Catherine Hardwicke, Kimberly Peirce, Amy Berg, Josh Safdie, and Ron Yerxa, among others.

Full winners list:

Best Feature

"Spotlight"

Best Director

Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"

Best Screenplay

Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, "Spotlight"

Best First Screenplay

Emma Donoghue, "Room"

Best First Feature

Award given to the director and producer.

"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

Best Female Lead

Brie Larson, "Room" (WINNER)

Best Male Lead

Abraham Attah, "Beasts of No Nation"

Best Supporting Female

Mya Taylor, "Tangerine"

Best Supporting Male

Idris Elba, "Beasts of No Nation"

Best Documentary

"The Look of Silence"

Best Cinematography

Ed Lachman, "Carol"

Best Editing

Tom McArdle, "Spotlight"

Best International Film

"Son of Saul"

John Cassavetes Award

Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer; Executive Producers are not awarded.

"Krisha"

Robert Altman Award

"Spotlight"

Kiehl's Someone to Watch Award

The 22nd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.

Felix Thompson, "King Jack"

Piaget Producers Award

The 19th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Mel Eslyn

Truer Than Fiction

The 21st annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, "Incorruptible"

Idris Elba, Abraham Attah and Mya Taylor Take Home 2016 Spirit Awards Trophies

Tambay A. Obenson — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 16:41:48 GMT

Film Independent's 2016 Spirit Awards ceremony took place last night in Los Angeles, marking the 31st edition of the awards show that celebrates the best of independent film. Spirit Awards were given out in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best International Film, Best Documentary and Best Editing.

The Filmmaker Awards include the Piaget Producers Award, the Truer Than Fiction Award and the Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award.

Of note, with respect to this blog's interest are: "Beasts of No Nation" picked up 2 trophies (Abraham Attah for Best Actor and Idirs Elba for Best Supporting Actor); and Mya Taylor won the Best Supporting Actress Spirit Award for her performance in "Tangerine." I should note that, with her win, Taylor becomes the first transgender actress in American history to win a film award at this level.

The 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards was broadcast exclusively on IFC last night, with Jessica Chastain serving as Honorary Chair.

Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions returned for his second year as executive producer of the show held in its usual tent on the beach in Santa Monica, in a new location this year just north of the Santa Monica Pier. Producer Shawn Davis returned for his 14th show and Rick Austin for his second year as producer.

The full list of the 2016 Spirit Award nominations and winners (in bold) follows below, and underneath, you'll find all 3 acceptance speeches (Elba, Attah and Taylor):

BEST PICTURE
"Anomalisa"
"Beasts of No Nation"
"Carol"
"Spotlight"
"Tangerine"

BEST DIRECTOR
Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, "Anomalisa"
David Robert Mitchell, "It Follows"
Sean Baker, "Tangerine"
Todd Haynes, "Carol"
Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"

BEST ACTOR
Abraham Attah, "Beasts of No Nation"
Ben Mendelsohn, "Mississippi Grind"
Christopher Abbott, "James White"
Jason Segel, "The End of the Tour"
Kudos Seihon, "Mediterranea"

BEST ACTRESS
Bel Powley, "Diary of a Teenage Girl"
Brie Larson, "Room"
Cate Blanchett, "Carol"
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, "Tangerine"
Rooney Mara, "Carol"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Idris Elba, "Beasts of No Nation"
Kevin Corrigan, "Results"
Michael Shannon, "99 Homes"
Paul Dano, "Love & Mercy"
Richard Jenkins, "Bone Tomahawk"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cynthia Nixon, "James White"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Anomalisa"
Marin Ireland, "Glass Chin"
Mya Taylor, "Tangerine"

Robin Bartlett, "H."

BEST SCREENPLAY
Charlie Kaufman, "Anomalisa"
Donald Marguiles, "The End of the Tour"
Phyllis Nagy, "Carol"
S. Craig Zahler, "Bone Tomahawk"
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, "Spotlight"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"
Ed Lachman, "Carol"
Joshua James Richards, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me"
Michael Gioulakis, "It Follows"
Reed Morano, "Meadowland"

BEST FILM EDITING
Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie, "Heaven Knows What"
Julio C. Perez IV, "It Follows"
Kristan Sprague, "Manos Sucias"
Nathan Nugent, "Room"
Tom McArdle, "Spotlight"

BEST DOCUMENTARY
"(T)error"
"Best of Enemies"
"Heart of a Dog"
"Meru"
"The Look of Silence"
"The Russian Woodpecker"

BEST INTERNATIONAL PICTURE
"A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence"
"Embrace of the Serpent"
"Girlhood"
"Mustang"
"Son of Saul"

BEST FIRST FEATURE
"James White"
"Manos Sucias"
"Mediterranea"
"Songs My Brothers Taught Me"
"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Emma Donoghue, "Room"
Jesse Andrews, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, and Myna Joseph, "The Mend"
Jonas Carpignano, "Mediterranea"
Marielle Heller, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (best feature made for under $500,000)
"Advantageous"
"Christmas, Again"
"Heaven Knows What"
"Krisha"
"Out of My Mind"

2016 Independent Spirit Awards Analysis: Why They Were the Best in Years

Eric Kohn — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 14:34:15 GMT

READ MORE: The 2016 Independent Spirit Awards Winners

In a year of ubiquitous frustration over #OscarsSoWhite, when even the Academy seems fed up with the backwards logic of Oscar season, an unexpected bright spot showed up in Santa Monica on Saturday: The Independent Spirit Awards got their groove back.

Film Independent's annual beachside ceremony still shared some of the DNA from the bigger Sunday event, particularly with perennial awards circuit presence "Spotlight" winning the Best Film prize. But with no obvious Hollywood product overshadowing the ceremony — even the savviest campaigners couldn't have forced "The Revenant" or "The Big Short" into the room — the Spirits felt more in tune with the American independent film scene than they have in years.

The comeback was long overdue. In recent editions, the $20 million budgetary cap that qualifies films for Spirits consideration has led to a series of infuriating outcomes, with winners lists that mirror the Oscars in most categories and favor celebrity turnout to placate deep-pocketed sponsors; the genuine filmmaking talent working outside the studio system was relegated to a sideshow.

Four years ago, Oscar heavyweight "The Artist" stole the show to an almost embarrassing degree, preventing less heralded works such as "Beginners" and "Take Shelter" from receiving their due. The next round found "Silver Linings Playbook" overshadowing "Beasts of the Southern Wild" at the one show where its visionary achievement seemed most apt for a celebration. Even the landmark year of "12 Years a Slave" meant that eventual best picture winner elbowed out "All is Lost" and "Frances Ha." Last year, "Boyhood" missed its one shot at a final salute when "Birdman" took the stage to rehearse for Sunday. Time after time, the Spirits made the little guys feel even smaller.

On Saturday, that recurring problem was barely present. While "Spotlight" snagged a lot of categories where Oscar non-entities may have benefited from a boost, the Spirits as a whole presented a striking contrast to the homogenized, fairly conservative set of Oscar nominees this year. "Beasts of No Nation" snagged two major acting prizes, for Idris Elba's creepy turn as a domineering Commandant and newcomer Abraham Attah in the stunning, credible turn as a refugee brainwashed by a ruthless militia.

"Tangerine" star Mya Taylor received a shoutout from presenter Patricia Arquette, who noted the value of a transgender performer getting into the room. Moments later, Taylor received a well-earned standing ovation as she won for best supporting actress, and implored the room to hire more talent like her. "Carol" cinematographer Ed Lachman got his due, in a notable break from the buzz surrounding Emmanuel Lubezki's frontrunner status for "The Revenant" at the Oscars. "Room" screenwriter Emma Donahue delivered a heartfelt acknowledgement of her longtime partner, Christine Roulston, with whom she's raised two children. Joshua Oppenheimer's daring "The Look of Silence" may not have the Oscar momentum of fellow documentary nominee "Amy," but his movie's win in that category at the Spirits put the right movie on the stage.

These moments played like correctives to an industry that has repeatedly stumbled over itself in reckless attempts to comprehend, much less accommodate, more diverse and sophisticated narratives. And it didn't hurt that the movies were outstanding, unconventional alternatives to the usual awards bait. Tonally complex, risky and liberated from the constraints of an ever-changing marketplace, both "Tangerine" and "Beasts of No Nation" received a grand total of zero Oscar nominations. The Spirits did their job by presenting the ideal alternative vision of quality American cinema crafted on its own terms. There's a much bigger picture to the best movies made today that the Spirits barely touched, but at least it got a bit closer this time.

Then there was the actual ceremony, which reflected the irascible nature of uncompromised creativity without forcing the idea. Co-hosts Kumail Nanjiani and Kate McKinnon started out with the usual cheeky gags about scrappy filmmaking values ("It's not about making money, it's about definitely losing money"), but as the show continued, their humor found a deeper edge. McKinnon, decked out in sunglasses and stuffing her face with ham from one table, brilliantly embodied a stereotypical no-nothing Kickstarter backer as she pretended to confuse "Anomalisa" and "Straight Outta Compton." Pre-recorded bits placing the hosts in "Room" and "Carol" were smarmy without insulting the genuine filmmaking prowess that inspired them. The hosts themselves formed the ultimate rejoinder to #OscarsSoWhite — as Nanjiani pointed out, having a Pakistani and a gay woman as the guides for the afternoon was no small feat.

The film community itself radiated a much healthier attitude. While traditional distributors struggle to maintain a foothold in an ever-changing media landscape, the scene at the Spirits reflected a network designed for cooperative survival. Outside the tent, executives from Amazon beamed about their latest deals with Woody Allen, while hanging tight with the Duplass brothers, themselves comfortably settled into an ongoing relationship with Netflix. That company's head of content, Ted Sarandos, spoke excitedly about the warm reception to their new series "Love" and their upcoming SXSW premiere of "Pee-wee's Big Holiday."

Rather than muttering about their limited options, a number of nominated filmmakers looked happier than ever. "Tangerine" director Sean Baker gathered with Jonas Carpignano, whose tense immigration tale "Mediterranea" was one of last year's great discoveries, along with Trey Shults, the John Cassavetes prize winner for "Krisha." Having spent the past year brushing shoulders on the festival circuit, the trio had agreed to find time to watch each others' films and finally got a moment to exchange their thoughts. Meanwhile, Baker and Shults both spoke excitedly of the new projects they hoped to shoot in the months to come. From this perspective, a world away from the bottom-line decisions of studio executives, the film community actually looked like a healthy place to live.

Still, not everyone received the exposure they deserved. The Cassavetes category remains a problematic ingredient at the Spirits, one that ghettoizes films made under half a million dollars rather than incorporating them into the major categories (though "Tangerine," which was produced for a mere $50,000, miraculously made its way to a best film nomination). And no matter how much it accommodated a bigger picture this year, the Spirits still pushed many of its influential figures to the sidelines, with numerous programmers from top-tier festivals pushed to the back of the room. If the Spirits keep tweaking their formula for the better, a logical next step would involve ways of celebrating the independent film industry's unsung heroes.

At the end of the day, "Spotlight" swept through several major categories, including best director and best film, but there was no discernible bitter taste in the room compared to other recent editions. Maybe the movies just happened to be better this time around. Or maybe the Spirits, at long last, have wised up. The Oscars may still dominate the conversation, but for a few hours on Saturday, a different world found its footing. There's no guarantee that the next edition will follow suit, but unlike the Hollywood arena, this is one corner of the film community that thrives on uncertainty.

Watch: Mya Taylor's Historic Independent Spirit Awards Acceptance Speech

Steve Greene — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 01:06:37 GMT

Entering Saturday afternoon's 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards, one of the favorite nominees was Mya Taylor, honored for her role in Sean Baker's "Tangerine."

Shortly after last year's Best Supporting Male winner J.K. Simmons read off Taylor's name and the crowd voiced their approval, Taylor strode to the stage and delivered one of the afternoon's best speeches. As the first transgender actress to be recognized at the annual ceremony, Taylor expressed her gratitude for being able to be at this point. "I had come from almost nothing," Taylor said, "and then got this role in this movie and my life has just did a total 360."

Taylor's sense of humor shines through, with jokes about her dress and Baker's explanation of the film's ambitious cinematography plan. In closing, Taylor said, "There is transgender talent. There's very beautiful transgender talent. You better get out there and put it in your next movie."

Many of the other acceptance speeches from this year's ceremony are now available via Film Independent's YouTube channel.

READ MORE: Full List of All 2016 Film Independent Spirit Award Winners

Indie Spirit Awards 2016: Read the Acceptance Speech Joshua Oppenheimer Didn't Get to Give

Zack Sharf — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 00:42:04 GMT

READ MORE: Full List of All 2016 Film Independent Spirit Award Winners

"So honored that 'The Look of Silence' won a Spirit Award.

We got played off, but here is the speech we meant to give...

'The Indonesian genocide began 50 years ago today, but in a terrible, important way it hasn't ended, because the perpetrators are still in power, and millions of survivors still live in fear. Nevertheless, I'm deeply honored that our films, the act of killing in the look of silence, have led to a movement for truth, justice, and reconciliation in Indonesia where once there was silence – or even noisy celebration.

Yet the silence in the title also refers to our silence. Because the Indonesian genocide is not just Indonesian history, but American history. The US provided weapons, money, and training to the death squads, and lists of thousands of names of public figures whom United States wanted killed. We in the us must do the same work as Indonesians. We must declassify the documents that reveal our role in these crimes, and take responsibility.

We are so honored by the support of the independent film community, because your recognition of our work helps us use the film to make real change. Right after the Oscars, we will be traveling with indonesia's national human rights commission to Washington, D.C., to meet with White House staff, urging our government to declassify the documents and acknowledge its role in these crimes. Film, particularly independent film, can hold up a mirror of truth, but only with your help. For that help, we are so grateful.'"

'Spotlight' Dominates The Spirit Awards Winning Best Picture & Best Director

Rodrigo Perez — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 00:38:38 GMT

The Spirit Awards have been in a kind of identity crisis. In the last five years, three of the films they honored with Best Picture (“The Artist,” “12 Years A Slave,” and “Birdman”) were also given the Academy Award for Best Picture. If the Spirits and Oscars overlap, the question is, how truly independent is the awards ceremony, and what makes it distinct? Well, the Spirit Awards may have defined themselves a little bit better tonight with “Spotlight.” The excellent Tom McCarthy-helmed investigative journalism picture swept the awards with the most significant prizes, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (read our review). A big winner for Open Road Films, who were shut out of the Oscars last year with "Nightcrawler," "Spotlight" has earned a terrific $38.5 million so far domestically and is the company's fifth highest earner to date.

READ MORE: 'Carol,' 'Beasts Of No Nation,' And 'Spotlight' Lead 2016 Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Of course, it’s entirely possible that “Spotlight” could sneak in and win Best Picture tomorrow, but the Oscars feel like a race between “The Big Short” and “The Revenant,” and the only overlap might be Best Screenplay (watch “Spotlight” win tomorrow and destroy this narrative, though to be honest, I would be absolutely elated if that happened). The Spirits were also a big night for diversity with Idris Elba winning Best Supporting Actor for “Beasts Of No Nation” (he failed to score an Oscar nomination, to much backlash), Abraham Attah winning Best Actor for the same film, and transgender thespian Mya Taylor winning Best Actress for the micro-indie “Tangerine.”

The big snub of the night was the continued overlooking of The Weinstein Company’s lesbian love story “Carol.” Directed by Todd Haynes, “Carol” led the spirits with the most nominations, six, but it only walked away with one award: Ed Lachman’s win for Best Cinematography. Walking away empty handed was the critically acclaimed "Anomalisa," up for four major awards, but winning none. Full list of winners below.

Best Feature
WINNER: “Spotlight”
“Anomalisa”
“Beasts Of No Nation”
“Carol”
“Tangerine”

Best First Feature
WINNER: “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl”
“James White”
“Manos Sucias”
“Mediterranea”
“Songs My Brother Taught Me”

Best International Film
WINNER: “Son Of Saul”
“A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence”
“Embrace Of The Serpent”
“Girlhood”
“Mustang”

Best Director
WINNER: Tom McCarthy — “Spotlight”
Cary Joji Fukunaga — “Beasts Of No Nation”
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson — “Anomalisa”
David Robert Mitchell — “It Follows”
Sean Baker — “Tangerine”
Todd Haynes — “Carol”

Best Female Lead
WINNER: Brie Larson — “Room”
Bel Powley — “Diary Of A Teenage Girl”
Cate Blanchett — “Carol”
Katana Kiki Rodriguez — “Tangerine”
Rooney Mara — “Carol”

Best Male Lead
WINNER: Abraham Attah — “Beasts Of No Nation”
Ben Mendelsohn — “Mississippi Grind”
Christopher Abbott — “James White”
Jason Segel — “The End Of The Tour”
Koudous Seihon — “Mediterranea”

Best Supporting Female
WINNER: Mya Taylor — “Tangerine”
Cynthia Nixon — “James White”
Jennifer Jason Leigh — “Anomalisa”
Marin Ireland — “Glass Chin”
Robin Bartlett — “H.”

Best Supporting Male
WINNER: Idris Elba — “Beasts Of No Nation”
Kevin Corrigan — “Results”
Michael Shannon — “99 Homes”
Paul Dano — “Love & Mercy”
Richard Jenkins — “Bone Tomahawk”

Best First Screenplay
WINNER: Emma Donoghue — “Room”
Jesse Andrews — “Me And Earl And The Dying Girl”
John Magary, Russell Harbagh, Myna Joseph — “The Mend”
Jonas Carpignano — “Mediterranea”
Marielle Heller — “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl”

Best Screenplay
WINNER: Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer — “Spotlight”
Charlie Kaufman — “Anomalisa”
Donald Marguiles — “The End Of The Tour”
Phyllis Nagy — “Carol”
S. Craig Zahler — “Bone Tomahawk”

Best Cinematography
WINNER: Ed Lachman — “Carol”
Cary Joji Fukunaga — “Beasts Of No Nation”
Joshua James Richards — “Songs My Brother Taught Me”
Michael Giolakis — “It Follows”
Reed Morano — “Meadowland”

Best Documentary
WINNER: “The Look Of Silence”
“(T)error”
“Best Of Enemies”
“Heart Of A Dog”
“Meru”
“The Russian Woodpecker”

Best Editing
WINNER: Tom McArdle — “Spotlight”
Julio C. Perez IV — “It Follows”
Kristan Sprague — “Manos Sucias”
Nathan Nugent — “Room”
Ronald Bronstein and Benny Sadie — “Heaven Knows What”

John Cassavetes Award
WINNER: “Krisha”
“Advantageous”
“Christmas, Again”
“Heaven Knows What”
“Out Of My Hand”

Robert Altman Award
“Spotlight” Kiehl's Someone to Watch Award
The 22nd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
WINNER: Felix Thompson, "King Jack"
Chloe Zhao, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me"
Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, "God Bless the Child"

Piaget Producers Award
The 19th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
WINNER: Mel Eslyn
Darren Dean
Rebecca Green & Laura D. Smith

Truer Than Fiction
The 21st annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.
WINNER: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, "Incorruptible"
Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti, "A Woman Like Me"
Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi, "Among the Believers"

Full List of All 2016 Film Independent Spirit Award Winners

Kate Erbland — Sat, 27 Feb 2016 20:49:52 GMT

READ MORE: Jessica Chastain Named Honorary Chair of 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards

Check out all the winners below, listed in bold.

Best Feature
Award given to the Producer; Executive Producers are not awarded.
"Anomalisa"
"Beasts of No Nation"
"Carol"
"Spotlight" (WINNER)
"Tangerine"

Best Director
Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, "Anomalisa"
David Robert Mitchell, "It Follows"
Sean Baker, "Tangerine"
Todd Haynes, "Carol"
Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight" (WINNER)

Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, "Anomalisa"
Donald Margulies, "The End of the Tour"
Phyllis Nagy, "Carol"
S. Craig Zahler, "Bone Tomahawk"
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, "Spotlight" (WINNER)

Best First Screenplay
Emma Donoghue, "Room" (WINNER)
Jesse Andrews, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, Myna Joseph, "The Mend"
Jonas Carpignano, "Mediterranea"
Marielle Heller, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

Best First Feature

Award given to the director and producer.

"James White"

"Manos Sucias"

"Mediterranea"

"Songs My Brothers Taught Me"

"The Diary of a Teenage Girl" (WINNER)

Best Female Lead
Bel Powley, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"
Brie Larson, "Room" (WINNER)
Cate Blanchett, "Carol"
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, "Tangerine"
Rooney Mara, "Carol"

Best Male Lead
Abraham Attah, "Beasts of No Nation" (WINNER)
Ben Mendelsohn, "Mississippi Grind"
Christopher Abbott, "James White"
Jason Segel, "The End of the Tour"
Koudous Seihon, "Mediterranea"

Best Supporting Female
Cynthia Nixon, "James White"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Anomalisa"
Marin Ireland, "Glass Chin"
Mya Taylor, "Tangerine" (WINNER)
Robin Bartlett, "H."

Best Supporting Male
Idris Elba, "Beasts of No Nation" (WINNER)
Kevin Corrigan, "Results"
Michael Shannon, "99 Homes"
Paul Dano, "Love & Mercy"
Richard Jenkins, "Bone Tomahawk"

Best Documentary
"(T)error"
"Best of Enemies"
"Heart of a Dog"
"Meru"
"The Look of Silence" (WINNER)
"The Russian Woodpecker"

Best Cinematography
Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"
Ed Lachman, "Carol" (WINNER)
Joshua James Richards, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me"
Michael Gioulakis, "It Follows"
Reed Morano, "Meadowland"

Best Editing
Julo C. Perez IV, "It Follows"
Kristan Sprague, "Manos Sucias"
Nathan Nugent, "Room"
Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie, "Heaven Knows What"
Tom McArdle, "Spotlight" (WINNER)

Best International Film
"A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence"
"Embrace of the Serpent"
"Gilrhood"
"Mustang"
"Son of Saul" (WINNER)

John Cassavetes Award
Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer; Executive Producers are not awarded.
"Advantageous"
"Christmas, Again"
"Heaven Knows What"
"Krisha" (WINNER)
"Out of My Hand"

Robert Altman Award
"Spotlight"

Kiehl's Someone to Watch Award
The 22nd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
Chloe Zhao, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me"
Felix Thompson, "King Jack" (WINNER)
Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, "God Bless the Child"

Piaget Producers Award
The 19th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn (WINNER)
Rebecca Green & Laura D. Smith

Truer Than Fiction
The 21st annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.
Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti, "A Woman Like Me"
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, "Incorruptible" (WINNER)
Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi, "Among the Believers"

The 31st Independent Spirt Awards will take place Saturday, February 27 at 2:00pm PT / 5:00pm ET.

READ MORE: What the Indie Spirit Nominations Tell Us About the Oscars

Watch: Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani Prepare Their Beach Bodies For The Indie Spirit Awards

Bryn Gelbart — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:09:53 GMT

READ MORE: 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards Reveal Filmmaker Grant Winners

SNL starlet Kate McKinnon is set to host this year's Independent Film Spirit Awards alongside "Silicon Valley" star and podcaster extraordinaire Kuamil Nanjiani. Although, Kumail may be confused about what exactly he is going to host. Maybe he's just excited for the warm Santa Monica weather. Luckily, Kate is there to talk some sense into him.

Both parities have exciting projects in the works, with McKinnon's female-led "Ghostbusters" sequel hitting this July and another season of "Silicon Valley" dropping on HBO in late April. After last year's delightful hosting job by Fred Armisen and Kristen Bell, Kumail and Kate have some pretty big shoes to fill, but we are sure they will bring their own comedic spins to the job.

The Spirit Awards air on IFC on February 27. Watch the two making a great team above and below.

READ MORE: Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani to Host 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards

2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards Reveal Filmmaker Grant Winners

Zack Sharf — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 23:31:30 GMT

READ MORE: 'Carol,' 'Spotlight' and 'Beasts of No Nation' Lead 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees

The 31st Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony might still be over a month away, but the nonprofit arts organization began honoring the winners earlier today by announcing the three filmmaker grant recipients at its Spirit Award Nominees Brunch in West Hollywood.

"Orange is the New Black" Emmy winner Uzo Aduba and "Mr. Robot" breakout Rami Malek co-hosted the event and gave out the honors.

"This year's recipients of the Spirit Award cash grants are so talented and we're thrilled to be able to support them," said Film Independent President Josh Welsh. "Our hope is that these unrestricted grants will enable the filmmakers to continue to make great and daring work."

The Piaget Producers Award, which honors emerging producers who "demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films," was awarded to Mel Eslyn. "King Jack" director Felix Thompson received the Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award, while filmmaker Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi ("Incorruptible") received the Truer Than Fiction Award, which is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not received significant recognition. All winners received grants worth $25,000.

The remainder of this year's Film Independent Spirit Awards winners will be announced and honored at the official ceremony on Saturday, February 27. The awards presentation will air on IFC Channel.

Screen Talk: Spirit Awards Surprises; Whither Iñárritu's 'The Revenant'?

TOH! — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 19:32:30 GMT

Now that Alejandro G. Iñárritu's "The Revenant" has screened for press, Academy members and insiders, can the brutally violent, late-breaking drama (December 25) starring Leonardo DiCaprio capture a mainstream audience and, for that matter, Oscar votes?

Meanwhile, Anne and Eric also break down the Independent Spirit Awards nominations, which include many likely Oscar contenders and more than a few snubs and surprises.

READ MORE: What the Indie Spirit Nominations Tell Us About the Oscars

Spirit Award Nods Announced: 'Carol,' 'Tangerine,' 'Diary of a Teenage Girl' and More

Laura Berger — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 18:00:00 GMT

The nominations for the Film Independent Spirit Awards are in, and while the indie film world -- including its own awards circuit -- is slightly more hospitable to female filmmakers than Hollywood at large, exactly zero women directors are up for this year's Best Director award. More bad news: Five films are competing for the Best Feature award -- "Anomalisa," Beasts of No Nation," "Carol," "Spotlight" and "Tangerine" -- none of which are directed by women. The top award is, however, granted to the producer of the film, not the director, and happily all of the nominated producing teams include at least one female producer.

Of the five filmmakers nominated for Best First Feature, two are women -- Marielle Heller for "The Diary of a Teenage Girl" and Chloe Zhao for "Songs My Brother Taught Me."

On the writing front, only one of the five nominees for Best Screenplay is a woman, Phyllis Nagy, who adapted Patricia Highsmith's novel "The Price of Salt" into "Carol" for the big screen. As for Best First Screenplay, two screenwriting rookies of the five nominated are women: author Emma Donoghue, who adapted her own novel, "Room," and Marielle Heller for her adaptation of Phoebe Gloeckner's graphic novel "The Diary of a Teenage Girl."

As is usually the case, women directors are better represented in the documentary category, with three of the six Best Documentary nominees helmed by women: "(T)ERROR, directed by Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe, Laurie Anderson's "Heart of a Dog" and "Meru" by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin.

Not one woman is nominated for Best Editing. Reed Morano is the only female competitor in the Best Cinematography category, nominated for her work in "Meadowland," which also marked her directorial debut. "I partly decided to do both jobs so I could prove that I could, because I felt like I could and I would be happier," Morano told Women and Hollywood. "It would be a better creative experience for me If I could control that aspect. I can’t turn off that side of my brain, the DP part. That’s something I feel I really know how to do. I thought maybe I could do it with my eyes closed then spend my time thinking about the actors, the arc, and if I was feeling [what was happening]. I put my camera on my shoulder and just followed them. Because I was in control of the cinematography I could decide how to do it that would completely cater to what I wanted for the actors, which was complete freedom."

The Spirit Awards will take place on February 27, 2016. The ceremony will be broadcast live on IFC at 2 pm PT/5 pm ET.

Check out all of the women nominees below. List adapted from a press release.

BEST FEATURE

(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

Anomalisa

Producers: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman, Dino Stamatopoulos, Rosa Tran

Beasts of No Nation

Producers: Daniel Crown, Idris Elba, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Amy Kaufman, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker

Carol

Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley

Spotlight

Producers: Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar

Tangerine

Producers: Sean Baker, Karrie Cox, Marcus Cox, Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou

BEST FIRST FEATURE

(Award given to the director and producer)

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Director: Marielle Heller

Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit

Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Director/Producer: Chloé Zhao

Producers: Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, Forest Whitaker

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.

Advantageous

Writer/Director/Producer: Jennifer Phang

Writer/Producer: Jacqueline Kim

Producers: Robert Chang, Ken Jeong, Moon Molson, Theresa Navarro

BEST SCREENPLAY

Phyllis Nagy

Carol

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Emma Donoghue

Room

Marielle Heller

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Reed Morano

Meadowland

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Cate Blanchett

Carol

Brie Larson

Room

Rooney Mara

Carol

Bel Powley

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez

Tangerine

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Robin Bartlett

H.

Marin Ireland

Glass Chin

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Anomalisa

Cynthia Nixon

James White

Mya Taylor

Tangerine

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

(T)ERROR

Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe

Producer: Christopher St. John

Heart of a Dog

Director/Producer: Laurie Anderson

Producer: Dan Janvey

Meru

Directors/Producers: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Producer: Shannon Ethridge

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

Girlhood

(France)

Director: Céline Sciamma

Mustang

(France, Turkey)

Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven

19^th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 19^th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Mel Eslyn

Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith

22^nd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 22^nd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.

Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Director: Chloé Zhao

21^st TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 21^st annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Incorruptible

Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

A Woman Like Me

Directors: Elizabeth Giamatti and Alex Sichel

Independent Spirit Awards: Read and Watch All Our Interviews with This Year's Nominees

TOH! — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 17:37:45 GMT

On the heels of yesterday's Independent Spirits chatter, we've rounded up our interviews all of the 2016 nominees, which go all the way back to Sundance in January. Read our analysis of the nominations, which boast more than a few serious Oscar contenders, here.

Best Female Lead

"The Diary of a Teenage Girl" Doesn't Judge Its Characters, Played by Bel Powley and Alexander Skarsgård (Q&A)

Watch: "Room" Best Actress Contender Brie Larson (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Watch: Rooney Mara on Loving Cate Blanchett in "Carol," Owning Lisbeth Salander, and More (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Best Director

Cary Fukunaga Traveled to the Heart of Darkness with "Beasts of No Nation"

David Robert Mitchell on "It Follows," STD Anxiety, Childhood Nightmares

Director Tom McCarthy Puts "Spotlight" on Sexually Predatory Catholic Priests

Todd Haynes and Writer Phyllis Nagy Talk "Carol," Glamorous Stars, Highsmith and More

When Sean Baker Shot "Tangerine" on an iPhone, He Invented a New Cinema

Best Documentary

How Filmmaker Morgan Neville Got Buckley vs. Vidal Doc 'Best of Enemies' Made

How Star Climber Jimmy Chin Shot Stunning Mountain Doc "Meru" (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Laurie Anderson's 'Heart of a Dog' is Aural-Visual Showstopper (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Watch: Joshua Oppenheimer on Making "The Look of Silence" (Exclusive Video)

Best First Feature

Marielle Heller on the Road to "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

Why a Spike Lee Protégé Shot Drug Trafficking Drama "Manos Sucias" in Colombia

Best First Screenplay

10 Ways the "Room" Filmmakers Wrote Their Own Script for an Oscar Contender

Best Male Lead

Christopher Abbott Breaks Out in "James White"

Watch: Ben Mendelsohn's Brilliant Career, from "Bloodline" to "Star Wars" (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Watch: Jason Segel on Playing David Foster Wallace in "The End of the Tour"

Best Supporting Male

The "Love & Mercy" Family Reveal Brian Wilson, Myth and Man

Watch: How Idris Elba Climbed Into the Skin of "Beast of No Nation" Commandant (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

John Cassavetes Award

The Safdie Brothers on Making Verité Drug Drama "Heaven Knows What" with a Real-Life Ex-Junkie

Best International Film

How French Oscar Entry 'Mustang' Finds the "Orgasmic" Joy of "Emotional Justice"

PODCAST: Why We're Excited About the Independent Spirit Awards

Indiewire — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 14:24:57 GMT

This week's episode of Screen Talk is presented by Disney's "Bridge of Spies."

READ MORE: Anne Thompson's Take on the Spirit Awards Nominations

In recent years, the Independent Spirit Awards have been an easy target. The frontrunners are often too reflective of Oscar season to actually showcase independent film. But this year's nominees — including the stop-motion "Anomalisa," above — are something of an exception.

That's the starting point for the latest episode of Screen Talk, in which co-hosts Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn discuss some of the welcome surprises from the Spirit nominations and contemplate their potential impact on Oscar season. They also touch on early buzz for "The Revenant" and reports of The Weinstein Company's plans to scale back its film division. And as a special holiday season bonus, this week's episode closes with the hosts discussing what they're thankful for.

Listen to the full episode above.

Screen Talk is available on iTunes. You can subscribe here or via RSS. Share your feedback with Thompson and Kohn on Twitter or sound off in the comments. Browse previous installments here, review the show on iTunes and be sure to let us know if you'd like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk.

Check out the rest of Indiewire's podcasts here.

READ MORE: Does Oscar Season Have a Diversity Problem?

What the Indie Spirit Nominations Tell Us About the Oscars

Anne Thompson — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 21:04:43 GMT

What's the secret of getting to be an Oscar contender? For starters, it's a movie that becomes a must-see for enough of the 6000-plus Oscar voters to have a shot at scoring a nomination in at least one category. Some of the individual branches create shortlists (among them documentary, VFX, foreign, shorts & animation) and vote for the final five from there.

What makes a movie a must-see? Rave reviews, boffo box office, awards group mentions and effusive media inspire voters who cannot attend screenings enhanced by Q & As and receptions to move up screeners in their piles. For many, watching those DVDs starts this holiday week, which is why stacks of them are arriving in mail boxes and door stoops. And this week, there's the Indie Spirits. (Still to come are the Golden Globes, the critics' groups, and the far more predictive Guilds.)

So which would-be Oscar contenders come out ahead from the Indie Spirits? (Note that European-financed films like "The Lady in the Van," "The Danish Girl" and "Suffragette" were only eligible for foreign film consideration.)

The full list of nominees are here and pasted below.

The Weinstein brothers are cheering as predictably, Todd Haynes' glam lesbian romance "Carol"—which so far is fulfilling the magic formula of critical success at Cannes and the fall festivals followed by initial box office interest— led the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations with six, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and two nods for Best Female Lead (Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara), the most of any film.

It will be fascinating to see how the Best/Supporting Actress categories play out at SAG and the Oscars, as the Globes also put Cannes Best Actress co-winner Mara in lead. Truth is, in an unusually competitive year for actresses, she has a better chance of winning in supporting. Also, while Mara is charming in person, she is not a campaign pro like Oscar-winner Blanchett.

Also reaping Indie Spirit rewards with five noms is another timely message drama, Open Road's "Spotlight," about the Boston Globe investigative team that exposed the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal, which carries emotional gravitas and scored five noms. "Spotlight" is the current frontrunner in the Oscar race, and only solidifies its strong position with this showing. Appropriately, it won the Robert Altman ensemble award for its cast, and will likely go on to win SAG's coveted equivalent prize, which often presages an Oscar Best Picture-winner.

Also getting a much-needed boost with five noms is Netflix's child-soldier drama "Beasts of No Nation," which stumbled day-and-date at the box office (total domestic gross: $90,000) as it was viewed by some 3 million subscribers in its opening frame on the streaming site. Netflix is pushing writer-director Cary Fukunaga's screenplay as well as young Ghana discovery, Spirit nominee Abraham Attah, but respected British star Idris Elba is the film's strongest contender for a supporting actor Oscar for his role as a charismatic Fagin-like commandant who recruits and trains child soldiers to fight and kill. There is some resistance to seeing the film, which is not an easy sit. Do Oscar voters care about the theatrical misfire? Some are more sophisticated about Netflix than others. It just means the movie needs extra support to be perceived as a winner.

Paramount is pushing hard for Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson's stop-motion feature, "Anomalisa," which nabbed four nominations. The animated film broke out at the fall festivals and was scooped up by the studio, which harbors high hopes for the movie, even though it starts off with a jarring "fuck," signaling that this felt puppet movie is NOT a family picture. Many Academy members—who boast a wide variety of tastes—will value this visually stunning, slightly avant-garde and distinct piece of art as something unique and special, not unlike "The Grand Budapest Hotel" or the Coens' "Inside Llewyn Davis" (which did miss the Oscar mark).

The actor-dominated Academy tends to favor live action over animation, rarely advancing animated features to the Best Picture category. The writers are most likely to appreciate what thrice-nominated Oscar-winner Kaufman ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") has done here. And while the Indie Spirits are forward-thinking enough to honor Jennifer Jason Leigh for her voice performance, she's more likely to get a leg up from "Anomalisa" for a supporting actress nomination in Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight." "Anomalisa" needs to continue to get this kind of support in a year when Pixar's "Inside Out" is dominating the animation race.

Not landing a Best Feature slot is A24's current theatrical hit "Room" (domestic gross so far: $3 million). Spirit actress nominee Brie Larson is the frontrunner for the Best Actress Oscar, and Irish-born Canadian Emma Donoghue is a strong contender for a writing Oscar nom for adapting her bestselling novel. Also not getting into the Spirit top five is A24's "The End of the Tour" (total domestic gross: $3 million) which did land a Lead Actor spot for Jason Segel as writer David Foster Wallace; his best Oscar shot is in the crowded supporting category. Roadside, which is a strong Oscar campaigner ("Winter's Bone," "Albert Nobbs"), landed a supporting slot for Paul Dano, who plays the young Brian Wilson in "Love & Mercy," which could help him repeat at the Oscars, but Elizabeth Banks as the car saleswoman who saved Wilson did not land a nod.

Like "Beasts of No Nation," many indies that scored on VOD at the expense of theatrical may not register as "hits" with the Academy crowd and don't get that boost. Were they seen? Many did not get Academy screenings.

The Spirits are designed to honor smaller indie features like Sean Baker's well-reviewed Oscar long-shot "Tangerine," an iPhone-shot L.A. odyssey that earned groundbreaking Indie Spirit acting nominations for transgender discoveries Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor as Santa Monica Boulevard prostitutes who are best friends. The Magnolia release performed better on VOD than theatrical (total domestic gross: $785,000), as did "Mississippi Grind" (total domestic gross: $130,000) whose Australian star Ben Mendelsohn deserves Spirit recognition. The Film Arcade is trying to get actors to see "James White," which features intense performances by veteran Cynthia Nixon and breakout Christopher Abbott, but again, it's a tough drama for the senior-leaning Academy.

Indie upstart Broad Green's the Hammond brothers believe in supporting their talent; the one who may emerge from their roster is Michael Shannon, nominated here for critical hit "99 Homes," but without Spirit recognition for Patricia Clarkson in "Learning to Drive" (which was hurt by a mainstream advertising campaign) or Sarah Silverman for depression drama "I Smile Back," they can now pull back.

Among the docs, Joshua Oppenheimer's sequel to "The Act of Killing," "The Look of Silence" continues to be the one film that ALWAYS gets mentioned; he could earn a substantial sympathy vote for not winning last time. Among the foreign features, Hungary's holocaust drama "Son of Saul" and French/Turkish "Mustang" are the leaders of the Oscar pack.

Read the full list of nominees below:

Best Feature

"Anomalisa"

"Beasts of No Nation"

"Carol"

"Spotlight"

"Tangerine"

Best Female Lead

Bel Powley, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

Brie Larson, "Room"

Cate Blanchett, "Carol"

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, "Tangerine"

Rooney Mara, "Carol"

Best Male Lead

Abraham Attah, "Beasts of No Nation"

Ben Mendelsohn, "Mississippi Grind"

Christopher Abbott, "James White"

Jason Segel, "The End of the Tour"

Koudous Seihon, "Mediterranea"

Best Supporting Female

Cynthia Nixon, "James White"

Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Anomalisa"

Marin Ireland, "Glass Chin"

Mya Taylor, "Tangerine"

Robin Bartlett, "H."

Best Supporting Male

Idris Elba, "Beasts of No Nation"

Kevin Corrigan, "Results"

Michael Shannon, "99 Homes"

Paul Dano, "Love & Mercy"

Richard Jenkins, "Bone Tomahawk"

Best Director

Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"

Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, "Anomalisa"

David Robert Mitchell, "It Follows"

Sean Baker, "Tangerine"

Todd Haynes, "Carol"

Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"

Best Screenplay

Charlie Kaufman, "Anomalisa"

Donald Marguiles, " The End of the Tour"

Phyllis Nagy, "Carol"

S. Craig Zahler, "Bone Tomahawk"

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, "Spotlight"

Best Documentary

"(T)ERROR"

"Best of Enemies"

"Heart of a Dog"

"Meru"

"The Look of Silence"

"The Russian Woodpecker"

Best International Film

"A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence"

"Embrace of the Serpent"

"Girlhood"

"Mustang"

"Son of Saul"

Best Cinematography

Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"

Ed Lachman, "Carol"

Joshua James Richards, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me"

Michael Gioulakis, "It Follows"

Reed Morano, "Meadowland"

Best Editing

Julio C. Perez IV, "It Follows"

Kristan Sprague, "Manos Sucias"

Nathan Nugent, "Room"

Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie, "Heaven Knows What"

Tom McArdle, "Spotlight"

Best First Feature (awarded to director and producers)

"James White"

Director: Josh Mond

Producers: Max Born | Antonio Campos | Sean Durkin | Melody Roscher | Eric Schultz

"Manos Sucias"

Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka

Producers: Elena Greenlee | Márcia Nunes

"Mediterranea"

Director: Jonas Carpignano

"Songs My Brothers Taught Me"

Director: Chloé Zhao

Producers: Mollye Asher | Nina Yang Bongiovi | Angela C. Lee | Forest Whitaker

"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

Director: Marielle Heller

Producers: Miranda Bailey | Anne Carey | Bert Hamelinck | Madeline Samit

Best First Screenplay

Emma Donoghue, "Room"

Jesse Andrews, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"

John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, and Myna Joseph, "The Mend"

Jonas Carpignano, "Mediterranea"

Marielle Heller, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

John Cassavetes Award (given to the writer, director and producer(s) of a feature made for under $500,000)

"Advantageous"

Writer / director / producer: Jennifer Phang

Writer / producer: Jacqueline Kim

Producers: Robert Chang | Ken Jeong | Moon Molson | Theresa Navarro

"Christmas, Again"

Writer / director / producer: Charles Poekel

"Heaven Knows What"

Directors: Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie

Writers: Josh Safdie | Ronald Bronstein

Producers: Oscar Boyson | Sebastian Bear McClard

"Krisha"

Writer / director / producer: Trey Edward Shults

Producers: Justin R. Chan | Chase Joliet | Wilson Smith

"Out of My Hand"

Writer / director: Takeshi Fukunaga

Writer / producer: Donari Braxton

Producer: Mike Fox

Robert Altman Award (given to the film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)

"Spotlight"

Director: Tom McCarthy

Casting director: Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee

'Beasts of No Nation,' 'Tangerine,' 'Mediterranea,' 'Out of My Hand' Are 2016 Spirit Awards Nominees

Tambay A. Obenson — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 18:10:51 GMT

Film Independent has announced nominations for the 2016 Spirit Awards today. Actors John Boyega and Elizabeth Olsen presented the 2016 nominees in a press conference that took place at 10 am PT at The W Hollywood, with Film Independent President Josh Welsh presiding.

This year marks the 31st edition of the awards show that celebrates the best of independent film. Spirit Awards are given out in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best International Film, Best Documentary and Best Editing.

The Filmmaker Awards include the Piaget Producers Award, the Truer Than Fiction Award and the Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award.

Of note, with respect to this blog's interest are: "Beasts of No Nation" and "Tangerine" are Best Feature nominees (the directors of both films are also nominated in the Best Director category - Sean Baker and Cary Joji Fukunaga); "Manos Sucias" and "Mediterranea" are Best First Feature nominees (Joseph Carpignano is also nominated for Best First Screenplay for "Mediterranea"); Abraham Attah ("Beasts of No Nation") and Koudous Seihon ("Mediterranea") are both Best Male Lead nominees; Kitana Kiki Rodriquez ("Tangerine") is a Best Female Lead nominee; Idris Elba is a Best Supporting Male nominee for his performance in "Beasts of No Nation"; Mya Taylor is a Best Supporting Female nominee for "Tangerine"; for Best Documentary, "(T)error" gets a nod; "Girlhood" made the cut for Best International Film; "Beasts of No Nation" is a Best Cinematography as well; and "Out of My Hand" is a John Cassavetes Award nominee (Best Feature Under $500,000).

The 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast exclusively on IFC on February 27, 2016, LIVE at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET.

Jessica Chastain will serve as Honorary Chair.

Announced previously, Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions returns for his second year as executive producer of the show held in its usual tent on the beach in Santa Monica, in a new location this year just north of the Santa Monica Pier. Producer Shawn Davis returns for his 14th show and Rick Austin returns for his second year as producer.

The full list of the 2016 Spirit Award nominations follows below:

Best Feature

"Anomalisa"

"Beasts of No Nation"

"Carol"

"Spotlight"

"Tangerine"

Best Director

Sean Baker, "Tangerine"

Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"

Todd Haynes, "Carol"

Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, "Anomalisa"

Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"

David Robert Mitchell, "It Follows"

Best Screenplay

Charlie Kaufman, "Anomalisa"

Donald Margulies, "The End of the Tour"

Phyllis Nagy, "Carol"

Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, "Spotlight"

S. Craig Zahler, "Bone Tomahawk"

Best First Feature

"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

"James White"

"Manos Sucias"

"Mediterranea"

"Songs My Brothers Taught Me"

Best First Screenplay

Jesse Andrews, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"

Joseph Carpignano, "Mediterranea"

Emma Donoghue, "Room"

Marielle Heller, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, Myna Joseph, "The Mend"

Best Male Lead

Christopher Abbott, "James White"

Abraham Attah, "Beasts of No Nation"

Ben Mendelsohn, "Mississippi Grind"

Jason Segel, "The End of the Tour"

Koudous Seihon, "Mediterranea"

Best Female Lead

Cate Blanchett, "Carol"

Brie Larson, "Room"

Rooney Mara, "Carol"

Bel Powley, "The Diary of A Teenage Girl"

Kitana Kiki Rodriquez, "Tangerine"

Best Supporting Male

Kevin Corrigan, "Results"

Paul Dano, "Love & Mercy"

Idris Elba, "Beasts of No Nation"

Richard Jenkins, "Bone Tomahawk"

Michael Shannon, "99 Homes"

Best Supporting Female

Robin Bartlett, "H."

Marin Ireland, "Glass Chin"

Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Anomalisa"

Cynthia Nixon, "James White"

Mya Taylor, "Tangerine"

Best Documentary

"(T)error"

"Best of Enemies"

"Heart of Dog"

"The Look of Silence"

"Meru"

"The Russian Woodpecker"

Best International Film

"Embrace the Serpent"

"Girlhood"

"Mustang"

"Son of Saul"

Best Cinematography

"Beasts of No Nation"

"Carol"

"It Follows"

"Meadlowland"

"Songs My Brothers Taught Me"

Best Editing

"Manos Sucias"

"Heaven Knows What"

"It Follows"

"Room"

"Spotlight"

John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000)

"Advantageous"

"Christmas, Again"

"Heaven Knows What"

"Krisha"

"Out of My Hand"

Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble)

"Spotlight"

Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award

Chloe Zhoa

Felix Thompson

Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck

For Your Consideration: The 10 Biggest Surprises of the 2015 Spirit Awards Nominations

Peter Knegt — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 17:44:23 GMT

It would probably be more surprising if there weren't some shockers among the Spirit Award nominations, which annually seem to offer many unexpected inclusions and omissions. Even so, this year is exceptional in that regard, particularly after a few years that heavily correlated with the eventual Oscar nominations.

Check out 10 big surprises below. A full list of nominations is available here.

Not Much Room for "Room"

It wasn't entirely clear whether Lenny Abrahamson's "Room" would be eligible at the Spirits, given that it's a Irish/Canadian co-production with an Irish director. It turned out that it was, but didn't grab nearly the amount of attention most expected would result. The film — which has seemed like a safe bet for many major Oscar nominations — was shut out of both the best feature and best director categories, with "Anomalisa," "Beasts of No Nation," "Carol," "Spotlight" and "Tangerine" getting nods in both categories instead. "Room" did manage three other nominations, for best editing, best first screenplay and best female lead (Brie Larson). However, Larson's castmates Joan Allen and Jacob Tremblay also missed out on nominations in favor of a few very unexpected inclusions (more on that later).

Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara Both Take the Lead

As will be the case with most awards announcements this season, a big question looming over the Spirit Awards was which categories Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara would be placed in for Todd Haynes' "Carol," and if the category confusion might lead to one or both of them being snubbed. The answer this morning? Both in lead and both nominated. Spirit Award voters loved "Carol," and perhaps made that clear by handing two of its highly coveted best female lead slots (that category was by far the most competitive this year) to the film. Now on to the next question: Can either of them win?

Lily Tomlin and Blythe Danner Both Miss Out

One of the downfalls to Blanchett and Mara's nomination pairing was that it didn't leave room for two veteran actresses at the top of their games. After both being nominated for Gotham Awards a few weeks ago, Lily Tomlin and Blythe Danner were sadly left out for "Grandma" and "I'll See You In My Dreams," respectively. It made us wish the best female lead category had an expanded nomination list, and lessens hopes that either of them could manage Oscar nominations (which would be Tomlin's first in 40 years and Danner's first ever).

Micro-budget "Tangerine" Makes It to the Big League

It wasn't clear what m happen to Sean Baker's "Tangerine" given its reported $100,000 budget made it eligible for the John Cassavetes Award (for films made under $500,000). But Spirit voters decided their love for "Tangerine" was strong enough to place it alongside films with budgets 10 to 200 times greater and nominated it for best feature and best director, alongside well-deserved notices for its actresses Kitana "Kiki" Rodriguez and Mya Taylor for best female lead and best supporting female. No small feat for two first time actresses now (deservedly) competing against the likes of Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Cynthia Nixon.

English-Language Films Get Snubbed In the Foreign Field

This category is always interesting in that it often honors both foreign-language films and English-language films made outside the United States. This year, the English-language films that seemed like they had a real shot included "Brooklyn," "Ex-Machina," "Youth," "45 Years," "Suffragette" and perhaps even British documentary "Amy." But in the end every single one of them got snubbed in favor of Hungary's "Son of Saul," France's "Mustang" and "Girlhood," Sweden's "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting On Existence" and Colombia's "Embrace of the Serpent." Look for "Son of Saul" and "Mustang" to battle it out for the win.

Kodous Seihon and Abraham Attah Beat Out Hollywood Names

A timely look at the life-and-death struggle of refugees, Jonas Carpignano's directorial debut "Mediterranea" has been a steady force on the festival circuit since it debuted in Cannes. But few expected it to factor in at the Spirit Awards, much less a high-profile nomination for Kodous Seihon's lead performance. Seihon notably beat out potential nominees like Ben Stiller ("When We're Young"), John Cusack ("Love & Mercy"), Peter Sarsgaard ("Experimenter") and Bryan Cranston ("Trumbo"), as did young Abraham Attah — a somewhat more expected presence for his tremendous turn in "Beasts of No Nation." What's more is that both Seihon and Attah were making their screen debuts in their respective films.

Jennifer Jason Leigh Gets Nominated For Voice Work

Jennifer Jason Leigh has been speculated as a major force in this year's awards season for some time — except it was for her as-yet-unseen turn in Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight," not her heartbreaking voiceover performance in Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson's "Anomalisa." But the latter was how she received her first notice of the season, the first time the Spirits have ever nominated a voice performer in the acting categories.

Supporting Actors Surprise, Too

Jennifer Jason Leigh was hardly the biggest surprise of the supporting acting categories. Three performances from films few have even heard of managed to make it in too: Richard Jenkins for S. Craig Zahler's "Bone Tomahawk" (which also got a screenplay nod), Marin Ireland for Noah Buschel's "Glass Chin," and Robin Bartlett for Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia's "H." What's more is that this trio got in over the Oscar-favored likes of Joan Allen and Jacob Tremblay ("Room"), Elizabeth Banks ("Love & Mercy) and the entire supporting cast of "Spotlight." Does that mean we should be adding Jenkins, Zahler and Ireland to Oscar prediction lists? Probably not, but here's to the Spirits for thinking (way) outside the awards season box.

The "Spotlight" Acting Team Gets Shut Out of Competition

The film's entire cast was announced as the winner of the Robert Altman Award (along with the film's casting director) and will not go home empty-handed at the Spirits. But it remained a somewhat surprising choice in that it disqualified the actors from the competitive categories, where Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo in particular could have been heavily favored to win.

Is This the End of the Oscar Crossover?

The past two Spirit Award ceremonies saw both best feature winners ("12 Years a Slave" and "Birdman") and seven of eight acting winners (every Spirit winner save Michael Keaton) go on to win Oscars the next day. That kind of correlation is extremely unlikely this year, simply based on the nominees. The slates for both best male lead and best supporting female refreshingly look like they'll be entirely made up of non-Oscar nominees (though Jennifer Jason Leigh could get nominated for that other movie she's in this year), which would be the first time since 2007 that this has happened.

As for potential winners, it's quite possible "Spotlight" could nail it at both ceremonies, while Brie Larson is most likely to succeed when it comes to winning an Oscar and a Spirit Award back-to-back come February. However, neither are sure things and this could be the first year in almost a decade when no Spirit Award winner gets an Oscar as well. And we wouldn't be not complaining — awards season should definitely spread the love more than it has been lately.

Peter Knegt is Indiewire's Contributing Editor and awards columnist. Follow him on Twitter.

Check out Indiewire's latest chart of Oscar predictions here.

'Carol,' 'Spotlight' and 'Beasts of No Nation' Lead 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees

Zack Sharf — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 17:21:24 GMT

READ MORE: For Your Consideration: Indiewire Predicts the 2015 Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Film Independent has announced the nominees for the 31st Independent Spirt Awards, which will take place Saturday, February 27 at 2:00pm PT / 5:00pm ET. While current Oscar power players "Carol" and "Spotlight" had a strong showing among this morning's nominees — "Carol" leads all films with six nominations total, while "Spotlight" is tied for second place with "Beasts of No Nation" with five — it looks like the Spirit Awards largely rejected some of the season's big favorites in favor of worthy smaller titles.

Case in point: "Anomalisa" and "Tangerine," both of which walked away with four nominations in some of the biggest categories. Both films are nominated for Best Feature and Best Director, and they both surprised in the acting categories as Jennifer Jason Leigh's vocal performance in the former landed her a Best Supporting Actress nomination, while acclaimed "Tangerine" actresses Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor earned Best Female Lead and Best Supporting Female nods for the latter, respectively. Other films benefitting from multiple nominations include "Heaven Knows What," "Songs My Brother Taught Me," "It Follows" and Sundance hits "James White" and "The Diary of a Teenage Girl."

Below find the full list of nominations. Check out Anne Thompson's analysis here.

Best Feature
Award given to the Producer; Executive Producers are not awarded.
"Anomalisa"
"Beasts of No Nation"
"Carol"
"Spotlight"
"Tangerine"

Best Director
Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, "Anomalisa"
David Robert Mitchell, "It Follows"
Sean Baker, "Tangerine"
Todd Haynes, "Carol"
Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"

Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, "Anomalisa"
Donald Margulies, "The End of the Tour"
Phyllis Nagy, "Carol"
S. Craig Zahler, "Bone Tomahawk"
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, "Spotlight"

Best First Screenplay
Emma Donoghue, "Room"
Jesse Andrews, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, Myna Joseph, "The Mend"
Jonas Carpignano, "Mediterranea"
Marielle Heller, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

Best First Feature

Award given to the director and producer.

"James White"

"Manos Sucias"

"Mediterranea"

"Songs My Brothers Taught Me"

"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"

Best Female Lead
Bel Powley, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"
Brie Larson, "Room"
Cate Blanchett, "Carol"
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, "Tangerine"
Rooney Mara, "Carol"

Best Male Lead
Abraham Attah, "Beasts of No Nation"
Ben Mendelsohn, "Mississippi Grind"
Christopher Abbott, "James White"
Jason Segal, "The End of the Tour"
Koudous Seihon, "Mediterranea"

Best Supporting Female
Cynthia Nixon, "James White"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Anomalisa"
Marin Ireland, "Glass Chin"
Mya Taylor, "Tangerine"
Robin Bartlett, "H."

Best Supporting Male
Idris Elba, "Beasts of No Nation"
Kevin Corrigan, "Results"
Michael Shannon, "99 Homes"
Paul Dano, "Love & Mercy"
Richard Jenkins, "Bone Tomahawk"

Best Documentary
"(T)error"
"Best of Enemies"
"Heart of a Dog"
"Meru"
"The Look of Silence"
"The Russian Woodpecker"

Best Cinematography
Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Beasts of No Nation"
Ed Lachman, "Carol"
Joshua James Richards, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me"
Michael Gioulakis, "It Follows"
Reed Morano, "Meadowland"

Best Editing
Julo C. Perez IV, "It Follows"
Kristan Sprague, "Manos Sucias"
Nathan Nugent, "Room"
Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie, "Heaven Knows What"
Tom McArdle, "Spotlight"

Best International Film
"A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence"
"Embrace of the Serpent"
"Gilrhood"
"Mustang"
"Son of Saul"

John Cassavetes Award
Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer; Executive Producers are not awarded.
"Advantageous"
"Christmas, Again"
"Heaven Knows What"
"Krisha"
"Out of My Hand"

Robert Altman Award
"Spotlight"

Kiehl's Someone to Watch Award
The 22nd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
Chloe Zhao, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me"
Felix Thompson, "King Jack"
Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, "God Bless the Child"

Piaget Producers Award
The 19th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn
Rebecca Green & Laura D. Smith

Truer Than Fiction
The 21st annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.
Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti, "A Woman Like Me"
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, "Incorruptible"
Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi, "Among the Believers"

READ MORE: Jessica Chastain Named Honorary Chair of 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards

For Your Consideration: Indiewire Predicts the 2015 Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Peter Knegt — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 21:43:06 GMT

READ MORE: Anne Thompson's Oscar Predictions

With the recent announcements of both the Gotham Awards nominations and the British Independent Film Awards, it only seems appropriate for this week’s column to take on the granddaddy of independent film awards: Film Independent's Spirit Awards, which are celebrating their 31st anniversary this year. With nominations to be announced on November 24, the awards promise to (as always) be a surprising and at times unexpected representation of the year in American independent film.

In the past two years there has been unprecedented crossover between the Oscars and the Spirits. "12 Years a Slave" and "Birdman" won both Best Feature at the Spirits and Best Picture at the Oscars, and seven of eight acting winners — Cate Blanchett, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong'o, Jared Leto, Patricia Arquette, JK Simmons and Julianne Moore — took home prizes at both ceremonies (Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne split last year's best actor trophies, respectively).

Will this year be more of the same? It's certainly possible: Oscar favorites like "Spotlight," "Room" and "Carol" are all expected to factor in quite heavily, but don't expected "Birdman" director Iñárritu to go back-to-back. His "The Revenant" — which has yet to widely screen — is reported to cost a not-so-indie $135 million.

READ MORE: 2016 Oscar Predictions

Another Oscars/Spirits crossover would give less opportunity for the Spirits to honor deserving indies that sit a little too far outside the mainstream for Academy tastes. WHile the nominations haven't come out yet, we can still make some general assumptions about the direction of the race — bearing in mind the Spirits' eligibility rules.

For example, "Joy" — directed by multiple past Spirit Award winner David O. Russell — is being released by a studio, so don't expect it to land here. "Brooklyn," "Suffragette," "45 Years," "Youth," "Ex-Machina" and "Son of Saul" are not American productions, which almost certainly excludes them from all categories except "foreign film." Having said that, "The Artist" made it a few years back — and won — so one or two of these titles might make the cut if they can argue that they're primarily supported by American companies. Films that have budgets that exceed $20 million place it outside the awards' limitations. "Sicario" has a budget of $30 million, for example (but you never know — "Silver Linings Playbook" had a budget of $21 million and it was a big winner here) So that all said, here are some of our best guesses.

Best Feature

Prediction: "Anomalisa," "Beasts of No Nation," "Carol," "Room," "Spotlight"
Spoilers: "The Danish Girl," "Love & Mercy," "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," "Tangerine," "While We're Young"

We can pretty much assume Todd Haynes' "Carol" and Tom McCarthy's "Spotlight" make the cut here. With universal acclaim and inarguable eligibility, they seem like the frontrunners. If Lenny Abrahamson's "Room" — which is technically a Irish/Canada co-production — ends up being eligible (as we suspect it will be), count it in, too. But then things get murky. Remember that the nominations are decided on by committees, not the entire voting membership, and so the nominations often end up being edgier than the actual winners (which are voted on by everyone).

Two years ago, "Frances Ha" got in over Oscar juggernauts "Blue Jasmine" and "Dallas Buyers Club." That could bode well for "Anomalisa," "Beasts of No Nation" and "Tangerine" — all films with passionate fans. With regard to the latter, its tiny budget of a reported $100,000 might mean that it gets relegated to the John Cassavetes Award category instead (which honors films made for under $500,000). If that ends up being the case, you can pretty much give "Tangerine" that award right now.

This article continues on the next page.

Best Female Lead

Prediction: Cate Blanchett ("Carol"), Blythe Danner ("I'll See You In My Dreams"), Brie Larson ("Room"), Kitana "Kiki" Rodriguez ("Tangerine"), Lily Tomlin ("Grandma")
Spoilers: Bel Powley ("The Diary of a Teenage Girl"), Arielle Holmes ("Heaven Knows What"), Sarah Silverman ("I Smile Back"), Alicia Vinkander ("The Danish Girl"), Kristen Wiig ("Welcome To Me")

This category is gloriously crowded this year, with seasoned veterans and newcomers alike competing for too few slots given the talent that is going to miss out. How will the category confusion facing Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in "Carol" factor in here? Will both get in? How about Blythe Danner and Lily Tomlin, offering up career-highs in indies "I'll See You In My Dreams" and "Grandma," respectively? Or newcomers Bel Powley ("Diary of a Teenage Girl") and Kitana "Kiki" Rodriquez ("Tangerine")? It's a tough call, but one thing is for certain: If "Room" ends up being eligible, Brie Larson is the frontrunner to win here (and probably at the Oscars, too).

Best Male Lead

Prediction: Christopher Abbott ("James White"), Eddie Redmayne ("The Danish Girl"), Peter Sarsgaard ("Experimenter"), Jason Segel ("The End of the Tour"), Jacob Tremblay ("Room")
Spoilers: John Cusack ("Love & Mercy"), Bryan Cranston ("Trumbo"), Andrew Garfield ("99 Homes"), Shameik Moore ("Dope"), Ben Stiller ("While We're Young")

This could easily be the first time in nearly a decade when not a single eventual Oscar nominee gets recognized here first. With the Oscar race stacked with studio bids for Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp and Michael Fassbender, the only man with much potential to double dip is Eddie Redmayne, whose work in the British-American co-production "The Danish Girl" may not even end up proving eligible here. Then there's Jacob Tremblay, who's likely competing at the Oscars in the supporting category for his remarkable performance in "Room," but is certainly not a lock to get a nomination there. We're predicting he gets bumped to lead at the Spirits (which would certainly be fair given he arguably lands more screen time than Brie Larson), joining Redmayne and a trio of under-the-radar performances by Christopher Abbott, Peter Sarsgaard and Jason Segel. But this is definitely the acting category that's the hardest to predict.

Best Supporting Female and Best Supporting Male

Female Prediction: Joan Allen ("Room"), Elizabeth Banks ("Love & Mercy"), Rooney Mara ("Carol"), Cynthia Nixon ("James White"), Mya Taylor ("Tangerine")
Female Spoilers: Olivia Cooke ("Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"), Lola Kirke ("Mistress America"), Rachel McAdams ("Spotlight"), Winona Ryder ("Experimenter"), Kristen Wiig ("The Diary of a Teenage Girl")

Male Prediction: Paul Dano ("Love & Mercy), Idris Elba ("Beasts of No Nation"), Michael Keaton ("Spotlight"), Mark Ruffalo ("Spotlight"), Michael Shannon ("99 Homes")
Male Spoilers: Kyle Chandler ("Carol"), RJ Cyler ("Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"), Adam Driver ("While We're Young"), Robert Redford ("Truth"), Liev Schreiber ("Spotlight")

The Spirits tend to get even more wildly unpredictable when it comes to the supporting categories. Who predicted Andrea Suarez Paz last year for "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors" (over Rene Russo for "Nightcrawler," no less)? Just because Joan Allen, Idris Elba, Rooney Mara, Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo are apparent Oscar contenders doesn't mean the Spirits won't snub them. And as much as we're fans of all of those performances, a few surprises would be nice, too.

This article continues on the next page.

Best Director and Best First Feature

Director Prediction: Lenny Abrahamson ("Room"), Cary Fukunaga ("Beasts of No Nation"), Todd Haynes ("Carol"), Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson ("Anomalisa"), Tom McCarthy ("Spotlight")

First Feature Prediction: Brett Haley ("I'll See You In My Dreams"), Marielle Heller ("The Diary of a Teenage Girl"),
Josh Mond ("James White"), Reed Morano ("Meadowland"), James Vanderbilt ("Truth")

One of the most interesting races to watch is the one that has no Oscar equivalent: Best first feature. 2015 was an exceptional year for first time filmmakers, with the men and women behind "The Diary of a Teenage Girl," "James White," "I'll See You In My Dreams," "Truth" and "Meadowland" all making their debuts. If they end up winning here, they will follow in the impressive footsteps of Spike Lee, Whit Stillman, David O. Russell, Spike Jonze, Kenneth Lonergan, Charlie Kaufman and last year's winner, Dan Gilroy. Not bad company, to say the least.

As for the best director race, it very likely comes down to Tom v. Todd. McCarthy won both the John Cassavetes Award and the Best First Screenplay award back in 2003 for "The Station Agent," and then took this award in 2008 for "The Visitor" in a bit of a shocker (the film hadn't been nominated for best feature). Then there's Todd Haynes. He's been nominated in this category for every single one of his theatrically released films, winning for "Far From Heaven." Both big favorites with the Indie Spirits, whoever joins them (we're betting Cary Fukunaga, Lenny Abrahamson and the team of Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson) will be dark horses to win.

Best Foreign Film

Prediction: "Brooklyn," "Ex-Machina," "Son of Saul," "Victoria," "Youth"
Spoilers: "45 Years," "Amy," "Goodnight Mommy," "Mustang," "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting On Existence"

This category is always quite interesting in that it often honors both foreign-language films and English-language films made outside the United States. As a result, "Once," "An Education" and "The King’s Speech” are recent winners, though the last four — "A Separation," "Amour," Blue is the Warmest Color" and "Ida" — were all in a foreign language.

This year, the English language films that seem like they have real shot are "Brooklyn," "Ex-Machina," "Youth," "45 Years," "Suffragette" and perhaps even British documentary "Amy." They'll be squaring off against the impressive international likes of "Son of Saul," "Victoria," "Mustang," "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting On Existence" and "Goodnight Mommy." We'd give the edge to the English-language contenders at this point, with "Brooklyn" holding strong as the frontrunner.

Best Documentary

Prediction: "Cartel Land, "Heart of a Dog," "Listen To Me Marlon," "The Look of Silence," "The Wolfpack"
Spoilers: "Best of Enemies," "Going Clear," "The Hunting Ground," "Iris," "Where To Invade Next"

As the recent IDA Award nominations helped made clear, another thing 2014 has going for it is an extraordinary output of documentary filmmaking. How the Spirit Awards end up choosing to represent that is probably the toughest call of all; historically, they have very much gone their own way in this category.

The last two years saw "20 Feet From Stardom" and "Citizenfour" both were winners here that crossed over with Oscar, though if British-produced "Amy" lives up to its awards season promise, it might not happen again. But even without "Amy," it's a very crowded field. The list of eligible possibilities is literally dozens of films long, but it would be surprising if at least one or two of our other predicted films didn't make it.

Jessica Chastain Named Honorary Chair of 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards

J. Carlos Menjivar — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 19:56:51 GMT

READ MORE: 10 Versatile Performances That Prove Jessica Chastain's an Heir to Meryl Streep

As we inch closer to awards season, the 31st Independent Spirit Awards prepares for their announcement of this year's batch of independent film nominees. Jessica Chastain has now been announced as the annual award shows's Honorary Chair.

Chastain was selected, says Film Independent President Josh Welsh, because she is "someone whose work as an actor and producer embodies the qualities we celebrate at Film Independent." Chastain has previously been nominated for two Spirit Awards, for both "Take Shelter" and more recently, J.C. Chandor's "A Most Violent Year."

Film Independent has also announced that John Boyega ("Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens") and Elizabeth Olsen ("Martha Marcia May Marlene") will announce this year's nominees at a press conference held at Hollywood's W Hotel on November 24th at 10AM PST.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards honor the best of American independent films. The awards show is televised exclusively on IFC and this year's ceremony will air on February 27, 2015 at 5PM ET in Santa Monica. Joel Gallen returns as executive producer for a second year.

READ MORE: Review: Why Guillermo del Toro's 'Crimson Peak' Is Not Your Average Gothic Romance

Film Independent Spirit Awards Announces Key 2016 Dates

Sonya Saepoff — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 18:28:21 GMT

READ MORE: Film Independent Selects 2015 Screenwriter Lab Participants

The 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast exclusively on IFC on February 27, 2016. For the second year, Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions will return as Executive Producer of the show. Producer Shawn Davis will return for his 14th show and Rick Austin will return for his second year as producer of the show.

"After last year’s great show we are thrilled to have Joel Gallen back as our EP," said Josh Welsh, Film Independent President. "We are excited to be back on IFC, I can’t imagine better partners than Jen Caserta and her entire team."

"We are pleased to continue to partner with Film Independent as the irreverent and informal approach of the Spirit Awards is a seamless fit with our 'always on, slightly off' brand," said Jennifer Caserta, IFC’s President. "We are excited to celebrate the best independent films and provide an exclusive platform for what has become Hollywood’s kick off to awards season."

2016 nominees will be announced at a press conference on Tuesday, November 24 at the W Hollywood and on spiritawards.com.

READ MORE: The 7 Biggest Surprises of the 2015 Spirit Awards

Save The Dates: Here's the 2015 Awards Calendar

Indiewire — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 18:44:54 GMT

October 2015

22 - Gotham Award nominations announced
30 - Britannia Awards (BAFTA LA)

November 2015

TBD - British Independent Film Award nominations
14 - AMPAS Governors Awards
18 - SAG nomination ballots mailed
24 - Independent Spirit Award nominations announced
25 - Deadline for Golden Globe nomination ballots to be mailed out to to HFPA members
30 - Gotham Awards

December 2015

1 - National Board of Review vote and announce winners
1 - Annie Award nominations announced
1 - WGA preliminary screenplay online voting begins
2 - DGA online voting for feature film nominations opens
3 - WGA Television, New Media, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation nominations announced
6 - British Independent Film Awards
7 - SAG nomination ballots due by 12pm PST
7 - Deadline for Golden Globe nomination ballots to be turned in
8 - PGA nomination polls open
9 - SAG Awards nominations announced
10 - Golden Globe nominations announced
12 - European Film Awards
16 - AFI Awards announced
16 - SAG final ballots mailed
21 - Golden Globe final ballots mailed
30 - Academy Award nominations voting opens at 8am PST

January 2016

1 - Annie Award online voting opens
2 - ACE Eddie Award nominations announced
4 - DGA deadline to submit votes for feature film nominations
4 - WGA deadline for preliminary screenplay online voting
5 - PGA Awards nominations announced
5 - Art Directors Guild nominations announced
5 - National Board of Review Awards Gala
6 - Deadline for receipt of final Golden Globe ballots from HFPA members
6 - WGA Theatrical and Documentary Screenplay nominations announced
7 - DGA final online voting for feature film award begins
7 - WGA final screenplay and series online voting begins
8 - BAFTA nominations announced
8 - Academy Award nominations voting closes at 5pm PST
10 - Golden Globe Awards
11 - DGA deadline to vote for feature film nominations
12 - DGA nominations announced
14 - Academy Award nominations announced
23 - PGA Awards
25 - Annie Award voting closes
29 - SAG deadline to submit final votes by 12pm PST
29 - WGA deadline for final screenplay and series online voting
30 - SAG Awards
30 - ACE Eddie Awards
31 - Art Directors Guild Awards

February 2016

5 - DGA deadline to vote online for feature film award
6 - DGA Awards
6 - Annie Awards
8 - Academy Award nominees luncheon
12 - Academy Award final voting opens at 8am PST
13 - WGA Awards
14 - BAFTA Awards
23 - Academy Award final voting closes at 5pm PST
27 - Independent Spirit Awards (not yet confirmed but most likely)
28 - 88th Annual Academy Awards

How to Improve the Independent Spirit Awards: Top Producers Weigh In

Nigel M Smith — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 21:43:27 GMT

The latest awards season is now officially over -- and with it, the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards' stunning decision to honor the higher-budgeted "Birdman" over "Boyhood" for Best Feature. The nonprofit organization's choice for best picture fell in lockstep with the Academy Awards the following night, a choice that left a bad taste with many in the industry, including Indiewire's Eric Kohn.

"Few could doubt that 'Boyhood' epitomized the notion of success in American independent film last year," Kohn wrote in his piece, "Why the Spirit Awards Need to Stop Mimicking the Oscars." "While 'Birdman' — a wildly enjoyable cinematic concoction, no doubt — was a far more refined production populated by celebrities and slick filmmaking trickery." True indies, he argued, are "left with the stinging reminder that money and exposure still win out."

"Boyhood," distributed by IFC Films, was made for around $4 million, while "Birdman" was made for around $16 million -- still under the Spirits budget cap for all nominees, which is $20 million. (They made an exception for the $21-million budgeted "The Silver Linings Playbook," which went on to win Best Feature in 2013.)

On the red carpet at the Oscars, the day after "Boyhood" was defeated at the Spirits, Indiewire asked Jonathan Sehring -- the IFC Films president chiefly responsible for financing Richard Linklater's epic undertaking -- about his response to Kohn's article, which he admitted reading. "I think Rick made the best independent film of all time," he said, and left it at that.

We pressed the issue with producer David Lancaster, who had a good Spirits Awards experience -- he worked on two of the ceremony's big winners, "Whiplash" and "Nightcrawler," but was visibly irked when asked about "Boyhood" and his own "Whiplash" losing to a film boasting a budget higher than that of the two projects combined.

"Indie films: I think the definition has been blurred a bit," he said. Recalling "The Silver Linings Playbook" exception to the rule, Lancaster said, "Define the rules and stick to them. I know it may not be good for the [IFC] broadcast and big stars won't be there, but it's great stories we should be selling and telling people about."

"I think that in order to distinguish ourselves going forward we to need to press that issue and make people understand that these movies have equally as strong stories to tell," he continued. "I think it's an exciting time for storytelling. This is an opportunity for people to recognize that a little film can stand up next to the big ones and get recognized and capture their attention."

It's important to note that the Spirit Awards do honor films made for less than half a million dollars via their annual John Cassavetes Award. This year, the honor went to the acclaimed comedy "Land Ho!," co-produced by Mynette Louie. We asked her to weigh in.

"We have to remember that the Spirit Awards is run by a nonprofit, Film Independent, which has many other programs that support truly indie films and filmmakers," she stressed in an email. "The Spirit Awards event is their biggest fundraiser and let's face it, sponsors, press, potential FIND members (FIND uses the awards to increase membership too) and the general public would simply not be interested if there were no big-name celebrities and films. So this is a symbiosis that we must live with.

"However, I do think FIND can capitalize better on the attention generated by the bigger names to shift more of the spotlight to smaller indies. They already do this with the Cassavetes Award, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Someone to Watch, Producers Award and Truer Than Fiction. But I think they should add three awards: Best Film $500K-5M, Best Film $5-10M, and Breakout Actor. I realize this will make the show longer, but it's worth figuring out!"

Josh Welsh, president of the Spirits' host organization Film Independent, offered his positive spin on the controversy: "The extent that other organizations now celebrate some of the same films nominated for Spirit Awards speaks to the fact that independent, artist-driven filmmaking is at the heart of our film culture today. Some people might find that overlap surprising and that's understandable. If other shows recognize these films and inspire audiences to see and support this type of filmmaking, that's a wonderful thing."

Share with us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.

READ MORE: Here's What It's Like to Cover the Red Carpet at the Oscars

Why the Spirit Awards Need to Stop Mimicking the Oscars

Eric Kohn — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 17:45:20 GMT

"I feel terrible," said one representative of a major film festival in the minutes after the conclusion of the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon, where "Birdman" won Best Film. "What do we even say to the 'Boyhood' team?"

Presumably, said team would survive: A year ago, nobody would have predicted that Richard Linklater's fabled "12 year project" could have gone this far. A commercial hit with six Oscar nominations, "Boyhood" didn't go home empty-handed from the Spirits, with Patricia Arquette nabbing another best supporting actress statue and Linklater winning for best director. However, few could doubt that "Boyhood" epitomized the notion of success in American independent film last year, while "Birdman" — a wildly enjoyable cinematic concoction, no doubt — reflected a far more refined production populated by celebrities and slick filmmaking trickery. "Birdman" is a wry commentary on Hollywood excess, but "Boyhood" illustrates the miraculous possibilities when one escapes it. Its only special effect is time.

READ MORE: The 2015 Independent Spirit Awards Winners

Even if the movie was bound to lose to "Birdman" at the Oscars, it would have been especially apt for Linklater's achievement to receive a final celebration from the event theoretically designed to celebrate its existence. Linklater had to deal with a family emergency and couldn't make the ceremony; Ethan Hawke accepted the filmmaker's prize on his behalf. But it's no grand leap to view Linklater's absence in symbolic terms. Year after year, the Spirit Awards highlight several of the most commercial, widely seen movie among the crop of nominees.

While last year that didn't mean "12 Years of Slave" was undeserving of its prize, it did prevent weirder projects nowhere near the Oscar conversation, including "Frances Ha" and "All is Lost." The two prior years were even worse: "The Artist," a French-produced movie about classic Hollywood, beat out the likes of "Take Shelter" and "Beginners" in 2011, while 2012 found "Silver Linings Playbook" standing in the way of a victory for "Beasts of the Southern Wild," the one best picture nominee that year everyone knew would lose. Each time out, instead of providing one final reminder in the heat of award season that there's more to the picture beyond the biggest Oscar winners, the Spirits set the stage for them.

Which is not to say that the Saturday awards ceremony, capably organized by Film Independent, completely missed the point. Film Independent goes great lengths to support a world of movies produced without Hollywood support. The Spirits at least offer a venue for discussing such work as an immediate contrast to the Oscars, which embrace deep pockets and the world beholden to them.

If nothing else, the Spirits provide an excuse to discuss a different set of priorities. In the hour or so before the event, hundreds of figures from the independent film community wandered outside the Santa Monica gathering, ordering fruity spiked beverages and snacking on hor d'oeuvres. The ecosystem of producers, programmers, distributors publicists and others who work to bring attention to movies from outside the studio system certainly get the opportunity to toast their accomplishments.

However, they're left with the stinging reminder that money and exposure still win out. Nominees with no Oscar presence this year, including Ira Sachs' tender story of an aging gay couple "Love is Strange" and Ana Lily Amirpour's memorable black-and-white vampire fable "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night," went home empty-handed. They're still winners for those of us who treasure them. But that's hardly sufficient comfort.

To some degree, the distinction between independent work and commercial product has grown hazy in ways that the Spirits can't control. Two years ago, Spirits host Andy Samberg opened with the quasi-sarcastic remark "Fuck Hollywood," but this year's co-hosts Fred Armisen and Kristen Bell provided a more realistic portrait of the current environment — a tongue-in-cheek song about this year's nominees. "We're a little bit indie," they belted out, "and a little bit studio."

But the Spirits could still do more to resist being held hostage by the second half of that statement. Ultimately, the problem comes down to a $20 million budget cap for all nominees. With few exceptions, this has meant that the movie made closest to that ceiling — or, in the case of the $21 million "Silver Linings Playbook," just barely exceeding it and getting an exception — beats out candidates made in the $4 - $5 million range, a figure that encompasses everything from "Beasts" to "Boyhood." If the cap was only slightly lowered — say, to $15 million or even $10 million — it would automatically provide a cleaner definition of the kinds of movies that belong at the center of the ceremony.

Some experts counter that Film Independent has no real imperative to create these limitations given its need to attract celebrities and well-known titles. A few years back, I suggested that Film Independent devise a "Spirit of Indie" category for bigger productions, which would allow them a place at the table without dominating it. Instead, the Spirits continue to play out like a drumroll to the bigger Sunday event, with only modestly-budgeted productions ghettoized in the John Cassavetes Award category (which went to the genial comedy "Land Ho!" this year) providing a real contrast to the limitations of awards season.

"There's a story out there to be told, not by corporate America, but by you," said Ethan Hawke from the Spirits podium on Saturday, but in a room filled by corporate sponsors at a show beholden to keeping them happy, the irony was visible in every direction. When Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the Robert Altman Prize (announced in advance of the ceremony) for "Inherent Vice," his crack about sponsor American Airlines ("Don't fly American Airlines, they will fucking lose your luggage") was the truest moment of the day. Thanks to PTA, the event offered a fleeting glimpse of the prankish, anti-authoritarian mentality that allows certain filmmakers to challenge the restrictions of the marketplace. In an ideal world, the Spirits would follow suit.

READ MORE: Will 'Birdman'/'Boyhood' Split Repeat at the Oscars?

Independent Spirit Awards, From the Couch: A Reminder Why Awards Should Exist

Liz Shannon Miller — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 01:20:28 GMT

Approximately 24 hours after the Independent Spirit Awards stop broadcasting live from the beach in Santa Monica, perhaps a billion people around the world will be tuning into the also-live broadcast of the Academy Awards. And if you were watching the Spirit Awards live on IFC, there was no escaping this fact, as approximately every 15 minutes a commercial for the Oscars would air -- almost identical each time.

As many have mentioned, the line of distinction between the Independent Spirit Awards and the Oscars is a bit rough; there's no denying that there will be a lot of duplications between tonight's winners and tomorrow's. (If you haven't filled out your Oscar ballot yet, then know that the smart money is on a similar bracket, especially for the acting awards.)

But actually watching the awards show... Well, sure, it was an awards show. The hosts parodied the content, there were clever presenting bits and less clever presenting bits (though, thanks to a slightly freer attitude, the clever ones outweighed the less clever ones) and people accepted trophies for their work. Because it was the Independent Spirit Awards, the occasional F-bomb was unleashed -- most memorably, Paul T. Anderson cursed out American Airlines, a sponsor of the show, for the loss of luggage. But those searching for massive distinction from others of the awards show genre will be disappointed.

Yet, maybe not. The Independent Spirit Awards actually seem, in all the Hollywood madness, to highlight independent film and its achievements on a larger platform than usual. How we define indies is in flux these days, but any opportunity to celebrate them is not one to pass up.

Julianne Moore is an interesting point to consider. She's very likely to win for "Still Alice" tomorrow, but her speech during the Oscars, after quickly mentioning co-star Alec Baldwin and directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, will likely be a quasi-acknowledgement that this is a long-overdue honor. Her acceptance speech for the Spirit Award, however, was all about the actual film she was winning for, which cost $4 million, was shot in 23 days and gave her the opportunity to cultivate a searing performance.

Plus, the Spirit Awards served as a celebration of things that seemed right just on the edge of succeeding, like Dan Gilroy's "Nightcrawler" -- a film just too small, it appears, to slip into the Oscars beyond Best Original Screenplay, yet a film that deserved some recognition.

And that's the crux of it: The thing about the Spirit Awards which highlights the whole damn point of awards shows is that it's not just celebration, but discovery. It's an opportunity for under-appreciated or unknown works of art to become known on a wider scale. That's the purest form of the motivation for awards season, an increasingly important one in a world with 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, 10 new films released every week and over 300 new TV shows airing every year. There is too much to watch, not enough time and we look to whatever we can for guidance in that quest to find that one thing that could change our lives.

A personal note: I've only been serving as Indiewire's TV Editor for less than a year, and while I've always been a conscious consumer of content produced outside of the studio system, over the past nine months my knowledgable co-workers have broadened my horizons exponentially when it comes to the incredible depth of film currently being made via unconventional means (and I've been grateful for it). Because any opportunity to discover something great or good is valuable.

And that's something the Spirit Awards understands. As much as I might have learned recently, watching the show today still had me reaching for Google to discover projects I hadn't heard about (I mean, this movie "H." sounds rad as hell).

The Independent Spirit Awards becoming a live show -- and in general, the growing number of niche awards shows finding their way to television -- speaks to that. But of those shows, what makes the Independent Spirit Awards special is the many categories devoted to surfacing films that might need greater recognition.

In the long run, the difference between, say, the Robert Altman award and the "special distinction" award isn't huge. The impact of any of these awards might be minimal. But, whether or not you agree that one performance or one editing job or one director was better than the others, what matters is giving creative works of value more opportunity to get noticed.

If that's not the ultimate point of this whole damn circus, then what the hell is?

READ MORE: The 7 Biggest Surprises of the 2015 Spirit Awards

The 7 Biggest Surprises of the 2015 Spirit Awards

Peter Knegt — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 00:41:33 GMT

The 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards weren't exactly surprising when it came to the winners (they never tend to be these days). Michael Keaton, Julianne Moore, J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette all won acting trophies, while "Citizenfour" and "Ida" won Best Documentary and Best International Film, respectively (Oscar crossover, much?). But there were still a few things that stood out during the ceremony, even if some of them weren't regarding the winners.

#1. "Birdman" beats "Boyhood"

While "Birdman" is being tipped to win big with Oscar, many thought "Boyhood" still had a big win at the Spirits in the bag. But while it did win Best Director and Best Supporting Actress, it was ultimately "Birdman's" big night. Probably not the best sign for tomorrow night...

#2. "Land Ho!" wins the John Cassavetes Award

Probably the biggest surprise winner came in the John Cassavetes Award category, which honors films made for under $500,000. "Blue Ruin" seemed like the frontrunner, with "It Felt Like Love" the potential spoiler. But instead Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz's "Land Ho!" took the prize, essentially the only genuinely "tiny" indie to get any recognition over the course of the ceremony.

#3. "Nightcrawler" takes two

It seemed pretty likely that Dan Gilroy was going to win Best First Feature for "Nightcrawler," but his second win for Best Screenplay was something of a surprise. It also made the film the second biggest winner of the night after "Birdman" (tied with "Boyhood," "Whiplash," but still -- those films will get a win or two tomorrow night too, while "Nightcrawler" won't.

#4. Editing and cinematography don't make the telecast

Perhaps you're surprised who won Best Editing and Best Cinematography simply because you didn't see them being announced. The Spirits aired live this year, so they questionably opted to leave two categories to a little pre-show: Best Editing and Best Cinematography. They weren't especially surprising wins ("Whiplash" topped "Boyhood" for Best Editing while "Birdman" beat "Selma" for Best Cinematography), but maybe you didn't even know they happened.

#5. Fred Armisen pulled off an Alzheimer's joke

The funniest moment of hosts Fred Armisen and Kristen Bell's so-so opening monologue was at the expense of one of the least funny nominees. Armisen repeatedly -- and to big laughs -- introduced the fact that Julianne Moore was at the ceremony, a reference to the fact that she portrays a woman suffering from early onset Alzheimer's in "Still Alice." Terminal disease jokes aren't exactly easy to pull off, so hats off to Armisen for pulling it off.

#6. Ethan Hawke presented Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette winning for "Boyhood" was probably the least surprising award of the night, but what was a bit odd was the fact that the Spirits got her co-star Ethan Hawke to present the award in the first place. It was basically like the Spirits were announcing Arquette as the winning when they announced Hawke was the presenter. On the (very) off chance someone else won, wouldn't that be kind of awkward? And isn't a tad offensive to the other nominees to pick a presenter so geared to one in particular?

#7. Richard Linklater wasn't there

While the fact that Richard Linklater won Best Director wasn't particularly surprising (though it was one of the night's few mild question marks), the fact that he didn't attend the ceremony certainly was. One would assume he's in town for that other awards ceremony tomorrow, no? If Oprah can make it to the Spirit Awards...

READ MORE: 'Birdman' Wins Beat Feature at 2015 Spirit Awards