Here’s How The Film Independent Spirit Awards Looks At 35

Actresses Zazie Beetz and Natasha Lyonne kicked off the excitement for the annual Film Independent Spirit Awards back in November when they announced this year’s nominees. The award show took place on February 8, 2020, celebrating 35 years of honoring the best in independent films.

The show was held at the Santa Monica Pier, amid awards season. The venue welcomed some of Hollywood’s biggest names, who mixed among the world’s top up-and-coming independent filmmakers. Aubrey Plaza returned to host, J.Lo intoxicated fans as she arrived on the blue carpet, and Adam Sandler gave one of the most endearing speeches ever to grace an award show stage.

The whole idea of the Film Independent Spirit Awards is the ardor behind quality filmmaking. After 35 years, that sentiment still holds true. As the Oscars and the Golden Globes so notably overlooked nominating female directors this year, the Spirit Awards swooped in to remind people how important it is that talent is recognized in all shapes and forms.

“I really admire all of the directors who have blazed a trail before me,” “Booksmart” director Olivia Wilde said upon her win. “This movie is really in the spirit of Amy Heckerling and Nora Ephron and so many other female directors, so I hope that we can continue their legacy and inspire more ladies to get out there and direct.” That was a trend we saw this year, as the Best Feature award went to Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Best Documentary went to Julia Reichert’s “American Factory.”

Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” win was another highlight of the day. The South Korean director was onsite, along with his translator (Sharon Choi), after he took home the trophy for Best International Film. “As I mentioned earlier, I came to this award ceremony 10 years ago with ‘Mother,’” Ho’s translator relayed to the press room. “I didn’t receive it then, but to be here, what matters tonight is the Indy Spirit Awards. To be congratulated by Spike Lee, the Safdie brothers, and all of the great Indy filmmakers that came before, that’s truly meaningful.”

“Uncut Gems” also took home a few awards – Adam Sandler won for Best Male Lead and the Safdie brothers for Best Director. After Sandler won, he stepped on stage, and from the beginning, it was hard not to see how he embodied the very meaning of spirit. The “SNL” alum casually pulled out a folded-up piece of paper from his pocket. He then addressed the audience with one of the most heart-warming and smile-evoking speeches you could ever want to hear.

The actor poked fun at himself while pointing out the very obvious – his win is exactly what the Spirit Awards is about.  He joked about being “snubbed by the Academy” and compared his newly-won award, to winning the title of “Best Personality” in high school. “The Independent Spirit Awards are the ‘Best Personality’ awards of Hollywood,” Sandler said as the crowd cheered.

It was easy to look back on Sandler’s other roles and his longstanding “independent spirit” when he joined the Safdie brothers in the press room. It was clear how the trio felt about each other, as well as how they felt about the possibility of working together again. The “Uncut Gems” directors praised Sandler, and Sandler then got up, to return the compliment.

Other highlights included the John Cassavetes Award, which is given to the best feature made for under $500,000. The 3rd annual Bonnie Award, recognizing a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines. The Producers Award, which honors emerging producers. The Someone to Watch Award Presented By Bulleit Frontier Whiskey and the Truer Than Fiction Award, which is given to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

You can check out the full list of winners in bold below.

BEST FEATURE

A HIDDEN LIFE

Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter

CLEMENCY

Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong

*THE FAREWELL

Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng

MARRIAGE STORY

Producers:  Noah Baumbach, David Heyman

UNCUT GEMS

Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear McClard, Scott Rudin

BEST FIRST FEATURE

*BOOKSMART

Director: Olivia Wilde

Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman

THE CLIMB

Director: Michael Angelo Covino

Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin

DIANE

Director: Kent Jones

Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

Director/Producer: Joe Talbot

Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh

THE MUSTANG

Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Producer: Ilan Goldman

SEE YOU YESTERDAY

Director: Stefon Bristol

Producer: Spike Lee

BEST DIRECTOR

Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse

Alma Har’el, Honey Boy

Julius Onah, Luce

*Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems

Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers

BEST SCREENPLAY

*Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story

Jason Begue, Shawn Snyder, To Dust

Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems

Chinonye Chukwu, Clemency

Tarell Alvin McCraney, High Flying Bird

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

*Fredrica Bailey, Stefon Bristol, See You Yesterday

Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, Driveways

Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy, Blow the Man Down

Jocelyn Deboer, Dawn Luebbe, Greener Grass

Andrew Patterson, Craig W. Sanger, The Vast of Night

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

BURNING CANE

Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans

Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer,

Wendell Pierce, Isaac Web, Cassandra Youmans

COLEWELL

Writer/Director: Tom Quinn

Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm

*GIVE ME LIBERTY

Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky

Writer/Producer: Alice Austen

Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern

PREMATURE

Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green

Writer: Zora Howard

Producers: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes

WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY

Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek

Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron

BEST MALE LEAD

Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty

Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luce

Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse

*Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems

Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Karen Allen, Colewell

Hong Chau, Driveways

Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell

Mary Kay Place, Diane

*Renée Zellweger, Judy

Alfre Woodard, Clemency

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

*Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse

Noah Jupe, Honey Boy

Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy

Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers

Taylor Russell, Waves

*Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell

Lauren “Lolo” Spencer, Give Me Liberty

Octavia Spencer, Luce

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Todd Banhazl, Hustlers

*Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse

Natasha Braier, Honey Boy

Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife

Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommer

BEST EDITING

Julie Béziau, The Third Wife

*Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems

Tyler L. Cook, Sword of Trust

Louise Ford, The Lighthouse

Kirill Mikhanovsky, Give Me Liberty

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

INVISIBLE LIFE (Brazil)

Director: Karim Aïnouz

LES MISÉRABLES (France)

Director: Ladj Ly

*PARASITE (South Korea)

Director: Bong Joon-ho

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (France)

Director: Céline Sciamma

RETABLO (Peru)

Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L.

THE SOUVENIR (United Kingdom)

Director: Joanna Hogg

BEST DOCUMENTARY

*AMERICAN FACTORY

Director/Producers: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert

Producers: Julia Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert

APOLLO 11

Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller

Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Peterson

FOR SAMA

Director: Edward Watts

Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab

HONEYLAND

Director: Tamara Kotevska

Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov

Producer: Atanas Georgiev

ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS

Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady

Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

*MARRIAGE STORY

Director: Noah Baumbach

Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler

Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever

BONNIE AWARD SPONSORED BY AMERICAN AIRLINES

Marielle Heller

*Kelly Reichardt

Lulu Wang

 

PRODUCERS AWARD

*Mollye Asher

Krista Parris

Ryan Zacarias

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD, PRESENTED BY BULLEIT FONTIER WHISKEY

*PREMATURE

Director: Rashaad Ernesto Green

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

Director: Joe Talbot

THE THIRD WIFE

Director: Ash Mayfair

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

17 BLOCKS

Director: Davy Rothbart

AMÉRICA

Directors: Erick Stoll, Chase Whiteside

BLACK MOTHER

Director: Khalik Allah

*JADDOLAND

Director: Nadia Shihab