2015 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD

2015 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD

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

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (WINNER)
Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole

Boyhood
Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland

Love is Strange
Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy

Selma
Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey

Whiplash
Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michael Litvak


BEST DIRECTOR

Richard Linklater (WINNER)
Boyhood

Damien Chazelle
Whiplash

Ava DuVernay
Selma

Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

David Zellner
Kumiko the Treasure Hunter


BEST SCREENPLAY

Dan Gilroy (WINNER)
Nightcrawler

Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
Big Eyes

J.C. Chandor
A Most Violent Year

Jim Jarmusch
Only Lovers Left Alive

Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias
Love is Strange


BEST FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)

Nightcrawler (WINNER)
Director: Dan Gilroy
Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Producers: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah

Dear White People
Director/Producer: Justin Simien
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe

Obvious Child
Director: Gillian Robespierre
Producer: Elisabeth Holm

She's Lost Control
Director/Producer: Anja Marquardt
Producers: Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones


BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Justin Simien (WINNER)
Dear White People

Desiree Akhavan
Appropriate Behavior

Sara Colangelo
Little Accidents

Justin Lader
The One I Love

Anja Marquardt
She's Lost Control


BEST FEMALE LEAD

Julianne Moore (WINNER)
Still Alice

Marion Cotillard
The Immigrant

Rinko Kikuchi Kumiko
The Treasure Hunter

Jenny Slate
Obvious Child

Tilda Swinton
Only Lovers Left Alive



BEST MALE LEAD

Michael Keaton (WINNER)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

André Benjamin
Jimi: All Is By My Side

Jake Gyllenhaal
Nightcrawler

John Lithgow
Love is Strange

David Oyelowo
Selma


BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Patricia Arquette (WINNER)
Boyhood

Jessica Chastain
A Most Violent Year

Carmen Ejogo
Selma

Andrea Suarez Paz
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors

Emma Stone
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)


BEST SUPPORTING MALE

J.K. Simmons (WINNER)
Whiplash

Riz Ahmed
Nightcrawler

Ethan Hawke
Boyhood

Alfred Molina
Love is Strange

Edward Norton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Emmanuel Lubezki (WINNER)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Darius Khondji
The Immigrant

Sean Porter
It Felt Like Love

Lyle Vincent
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Bradford Young
Selma


BEST EDITING

Tom Cross (WINNER)
Whiplash

Sandra Adair
Boyhood

John Gilroy
Nightcrawler

Ron Patane
A Most Violent Year

Adam Wingard
The Guest


BEST DOCUMENTARY
(Award given to the director and producer)

CITIZENFOUR (WINNER)
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky

20,000 Days on Earth
Directors: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Producers: Dan Bowen, James Wilson

Stray Dog
Director: Debra Granik
Producer: Anne Rosellini

The Salt of the Earth
Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders
Producer: David Rosier

Virunga
Director/Producer: Orlando von Einsiedel
Producer: Joanna Natasegara


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.

Land Ho! (WINNER)
Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens
Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy

Blue Ruin
Writer/Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Producers: Richard Peete, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani

It Felt Like Love
Writer/Director/Producer: Eliza Hittman
Producers: Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner

Man From Reno
Writer/Director: Dave Boyle
Writers: Joel Clark, Michael Lerman
Producer: Ko Mori

Test
Writer/Director/Producer: Chris Mason Johnson
Producer: Chris Martin


BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
(Award given to the director)

Ida (Poland) (WINNER)
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski

Force Majeure (Sweden)
Director: Ruben Östlund

Leviathan (Russia)
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev

Mommy (Canada)
Director: Xavier Dolan

Norte, the End of History (Philippines)
Director: Lav Diaz

Under the Skin (United Kingdom)
Director: Jonathan Glazer


ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)

Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis
Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon


SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD

Foxcatcher
Director/Producer: Bennett Miller
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik
Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman
Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum


18th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
The 18th 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.

Chris Ohlson (WINNER)
Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm


21st ANNUAL KIEHL'S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
The 21st 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.

H. (WINNER)
Directors: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour

The Retrieval
Director: Chris Eska

20th ANNUAL LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The 20th 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.

The Kill Team (WINNER)
Director: Dan Krauss

Approaching the Elephant
Director: Amanda Rose Wilder

Evolution of a Criminal
Director: Darius Clark Monroe

The Last Season
Director: Sara Dosa