This year’s 2015 Film Independent Spirit Award nominees will be presented by Rosario Dawson (Top Five, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Cesar Chavez, Rent) and Diego Luna (The Book of Life, Cesar Chavez, Y Tu Mama Tambien) in a press conference at 10 am PT on Tuesday, November 25 at The W Hollywood.
Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that also produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA Film Series, will announce the winners on Saturday, February 21, 2015 at the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards. The live event is held under Film Independent’s signature tent on the beach in Santa Monica and will broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 2 pm PT/ 5 pm ET.
The organization also announced that Maggie Mackay has been promoted to director of Spirit Awards nominations. Mackay was formerly sr. programmer at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Announced earlier this month, Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions joined the team as executive producer and producer Shawn Davis returns for his 13th show.
Spirit Awards are given out in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best International Film, Best Documentary, Best Editing and the Robert Altman Award. The Filmmaker Awards include the Piaget Producers Award, the LensCrafters Truer Than Fiction Award and the Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award.
In addition to celebrating the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking, the Spirit Awards is also the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity in the industry.