Spotlight (Open Road Films) came up the big winner at the Film Independent Spirit Awards held today (Saturday, 2/27) in Santa Monica, earning Best Picture distinction, Best Director for Tom McCarthy, Best Editor for Tom McArdle, Best Screenplay for McCarthy and Josh Singer, and the Robert Altman Award for director McCarthy, casting directors Kerry Arden and Paul Schnee and ensemble cast members Michael Cyril Creighton, Billy Crudup, Paul Giulfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian D’Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery and Stanley Tucci.
Also acquitting themselves well in the major categories were Beasts of No Nation (Bleecker Street/Netflix), which won Best Male Lead for Abraham Attah and Best Supporting Male for Idris Elba; Room (A24), which won Best Female Lead for Brie Larson and Best First Screenplay for Emma Donoghue; Carol (The Weinstein Company), which won Best Cinematography for Ed Lachman, ASC; The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Picture Classics), which won Best First Feature (director Marielle Heller); Krisha (A24), which won the John Cassavetes Award for Best First Feature Under $500,000; The Look of Silence (Drafthouse Films/Participant Media), which won Best Documentary (director Joshua Oppenheimer); Son of Saul (Hungary-–Sony Pictures Classics), which won Best International Film (director László Nemes) and Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures), which won Best Supporting Female for Mya Taylor.
The 2016 Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation Fellowship, which includes a cash grant of $10,000, was awarded to Zimbabwean filmmaker Sue-Ellen Chitunya. This annual award is given to a filmmaker currently participating in a Film Independent Artist Development program with the mission of diversity in mind. Chitunya, a participant in Project Involve, is currently in active development as a producer on her first narrative feature film, A Hard Place.
The following is a complete list of the winners:
Best Feature: Spotlight (Open Road Films)
Producers: Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar
Best Director: Tom McCarthy, Spotlight (Open Road Films)
Best Screenplay: Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer, Spotlight (Open Road Films)
Best First Feature: The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Pictures Classics)
Director: Marielle Heller
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit
Best First Screenplay: Emma Donoghue, Room (A24)
John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000): Krisha (A24)
Writer/Director/Producer: Trey Edward Shults
Producers: Justin R. Chan, Chase Joliet, Wilson Smith
Best Female Lead: Brie Larson, Room (A24)
Best Male Lead: Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation (Bleecker Street/Netflix)
Best Supporting Female: Mya Taylor, Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures)
Best Supporting Male: Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation (Bleecker Street/Netflix)
Robert Altman Award: Spotlight (Open Road Films)
Director: Tom McCarthy
Casting Directors: Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee
Ensemble Cast: Billy Crudup, Michael Cyril Creighton, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian d’Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci
Best Cinematography: Ed Lachman, Carol (The Weinstein Company)
Best Editing: Tom McArdle, Spotlight (Open Road Films)
Best International Film: Son of Saul (Hungary – Sony Pictures Classics)
Director: László Nemes
Best Documentary: The Look of Silence (Drafthouse Films/Participant Media)
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen