It was a good day for many of the notable films at the 39th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, but the top prize — best feature — went to “Past Lives,” with its director Celine Song earning the top honors for her effort in that role.
Those were the only awards that “Past Lives” earned despite entering the day with five nominations, tied for the lead with “May December” and “American Fiction.”
“American Fiction” also won two awards — Cord Jefferson for screenplay and Jeffrey Wright for lead performance. “May December” took home one award, best first screenplay, with writing credit by Samy Burch and story by credits for Burch and Alex Mechanik.
“The Holdovers,” meanwhile, captured three awards. Winning for her supporting performance, Da’Vine Joy Randolph; for his breakthrough performance, Dominic Sessa; and for cinematography, Eigil Bryld.
The Spirit Awards honor independent films made with a budget of no more than $30 million. The awards was presented during an afternoon luncheon event held inside a tent adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier. “Saturday Night Live” alum Aidy Bryant hosted the event.
Winning the John Cassavetes Award, which honors a film made for less than $1 million, was “Fremont,” from writer/director Babak Jalali and Carolina Cavalli Producers: Rachael Fung, Chris Martin, Marjaneh Moghimi, George Rush, Sudnya Shroff and Laura Wagner.
“A Thousand and One” garnered the prize for best first feature.
The Robert Altman Award, which honors a single film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast, was presented to “Showing Up.”
Winning two performance roles in the new scripted series category was “The Last of Us,” with Nick Offerman getting the prize for best supporting and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for breakthrough.
“Jury Duty” was named the winner of the award for best ensemble cast in a new scripted series.
“This year’s exciting group of Spirit Award nominees reflect the undeniable strength and vitality of independent storytelling — this is the beating heart of film culture today,” Josh Welsh, president of Film Independent, said in a statement. “It’s especially thrilling to see so many nominees who have benefited from the support of the Artist Development program. We can’t wait to celebrate the incredible work these artists have created and look forward to everything they have in store for us for years to come.”
Here is a complete list of winners:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
“Past Lives,” Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
“A Thousand and One,” Director: A.V. Rockwell Producers: Julia Lebedev, Rishi Rajani, Eddie Vaisman, Lena Waithe, Brad Weston
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer)
“Fremont,” Director/Writer: Babak Jalali Writer: Carolina Cavalli Producers: Rachael Fung, Chris Martin, Marjaneh Moghimi, George Rush, Sudnya Shroff, Laura Wagner
BEST DIRECTOR
Celine Song, “Past Lives”
BEST SCREENPLAY
Cord Jefferson, “American Fiction”
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik, “May December”
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Dominic Sessa, “The Holdovers”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Eigil Bryld, “The Holdovers”
BEST EDITING
Daniel Garber, “How to Blow Up a Pipeline”
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one films director, casting director and ensemble cast
“Showing Up,” Director: Kelly Reichardt Casting Director: Gayle Keller Ensemble Cast: André Benjamin, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Heather Lawless, James Le Gros, John Magaro, Matt Malloy, Amanda Plummer, Maryann Plunkett, Denzel Rodriguez, Michelle Williams ?
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
“Four Daughters,” Director: Kaouther Ben Hania Producer: Nadim Cheikhrouha
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
“Anatomy of a Fall,” France, Director: Justine Triet
PRODUCERS AWARD, presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey – The Producers Award, now in its 27th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.
Monique Walton
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 30th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
Monica Sorelle, Director of “Mountains”
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 29th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Set Hernandez, Director of “unseen”
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
“Dear Mama,” Executive Producers: Lasse Jarvi, Quincy “QD3” Jones III, Staci Robinson, Nelson George, Charles D. King, Peter Nelson, Adel “Future” Nur, Jamal Joseph, Ted Skillman, Allen Hughes, Steve Berman, Marc Cimino, Jody Gerson, John Janick, Nicholas Ferrall, Nigel Sinclair
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
“Beef,” Creator/Executive Producer: Lee Sung Jin Executive Producers: Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Jake Schreier, Ravi Nandan, Alli Reich Co-Executive Producers: Alice Ju, Carrie Kemper
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Ali Wong, “Beef”
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Nick Offerman, “The Last of Us”
BEST BREAKTRHOUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Keivonn Montreal Woodard, “The Last of Us”
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
“Jury Duty,” Ensemble Cast: Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, David Brown, Kirk Fox, Ross Kimball, Pramode Kumar, Trisha LaFache, Mekki Leeper, James Marsden, Edy Modica, Kerry O’Neill, Rashida Olayiwola, Whitney Rice, Maria Russell, Ishmel Sahid, Ben Seaward, Ron Song, Evan Williams