LOS ANGELES --

Everything Everywhere All at Once led the way on Saturday (3/4) at the Film Independent Spirit Awards with seven wins, including for Best Feature. The A24 film also won Best Director and Best Screenplay for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Best Lead Performance for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Performance for Ke Huy Quan, Best Breakthrough Performance for Stephanie Hsu, and Best Editing for Paul Rogers. 

Among the other films and artists honored, Aftersun won Best First Feature; John Patton Ford won Best First Screenplay for Emily the Criminal; Florian Hoffmeister, BSC won Best Cinematography for Tár; Joyland won Best International Film; and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed won Best Documentary.

For the third time in its history, this year’s Spirit Awards also honored exceptional content in television. This year’s major winners in the TV categories were The Bear which won Best New Scripted Series, and Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series for Ayo Edebiri; The Rehearsal, which won Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series; Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary, who won Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series; and Pachinko, which won Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series.

The 15th annual Robert Altman Award, which was created in 2008 in honor of legendary film director Robert Altman, who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts, was awarded to Women Talking director Sarah Polley, alongside casting directors John Buchan and Jason Knight, as well as ensemble cast members Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, August Winter and Ben Whishaw.

Also celebrated were The Cathedral with the John Cassavetes Award, given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (raised from $500,000 in previous years); Nikyatu Jusu of Nanny with the Someone to Watch Award, recognizing a filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition; Reid Davenport of I Didn’t See You There with the Truer Than Fiction Award, presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has yet to receive significant recognition; and Tory Lenosky with the Producers Award, honoring emerging producers who demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films with limited resources.

This year’s ceremony, the 38th in Film Independent’s history, was marked by a number of firsts. Most notable was a switch to gender neutral acting categories, as well as the introduction of the aforementioned Best Breakthrough Performance award in film.

The winners of the Film Independent Spirit Awards are voted on by members of Film Independent, the nonprofit organization dedicated to indie filmmaking as well as  fostering independence and inclusivity in visual storytelling. The awards ceremony was emceed by comedian Hasan Minhaj.

 

The following is a complete list of the winners:

FILM CATEGORIES

Best Feature
Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
Producers: Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang

 

Best Director
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
 

 

Best Screenplay
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

 

Best First Feature
Aftersun (A24)
Director: Charlotte Wells
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski
 

 

Best First Screenplay
John Patton Ford, Emily the Criminal (Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment)
 

 

John Cassavetes Award (for best feature made under $1,000,000)
The Cathedral (MUBI)
Writer/Director: Ricky D’Ambrose
Producer: Graham Swon
 

 

Best Breakthrough Performance
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

 

Best Supporting Performance
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

 

Best Lead Performance
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
 

 

Robert Altman Award
Women Talking (Orion Releasing/United Artists Releasing)
Director: Sarah Polley
Casting Directors: John Buchan, Jason Knight
Ensemble Cast: Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, August Winter, Ben Whishaw

 

Best Cinematography
Florian Hoffmeister, Tár (Focus Features)

 

Best Editing
Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
 

 

Best International Film
Joyland (Oscilloscope)
Director: Saim Sadiq

 

Best Documentary
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (NEON)
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons

 

Someone to Watch
Nikyatu Jusu, Nanny (Amazon Studios)

 

Truer Than Fiction
Reid Davenport, I Didn’t See You There (POV)

 

Producers Award
Tory Lenosky

 

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

Best New Scripted Series
The Bear (FX)
Creator/Executive Producer: Christopher Storer
Executive Producers: Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, Hiro Murai
Co-Executive Producer: Rene Gube

 

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
The Rehearsal (HBO/HBO Max)
Creator/Executive Producer: Nathan Fielder
Executive Producers: Dave Paige, Dan McManus, Christie Smith
Co-Executive Producers: Carrie Kemper, Eric Notarnicola

 

Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (FX)
 

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (ABC)

 

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Pachinko (Apple+)
Ensemble Cast: Jin Ha, Lee Minho, Minha Kim, Soji Arai, Inji Jeong, Kaho Minami, Steve Sanghyun Noh, Anna Sawai, Jimmi Simpson, Yuh-jung Youn

 

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