The 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards were handed out Saturday in recognition of the best in indie films from 2019.
Willem Dafoe won the first award, Best Supporting Male, for his role in “The Lighthouse.” “Uncut Gems” won Best Editing, while the Best Documentary award went to “American Factory.” Best Cinematography went to Jarin Blaschke for “The Lighthouse.”
Kelly Reichardt was awarded The Bonnie Award, which recognizes a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant. The John Cassavetes Award, given to the best feature made for under $500,000, was given to “Give Me Liberty.”
“Parasite” won Best International Film. Zhao Shuzhen won Best Supporting Female for her role in “The Farewell.” “Marriage Story” won Best Screenplay. Adam Sandler won Best Male Lead for his performance in “Uncut Gems” and Renée Zellweger received the Best Female Lead for her role in “Judy.”
And lastly, Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” won the top honor of the night, Best Feature.
Aubrey Plaza hosted the awards ceremony that aired on IFC. See the full list of winners below:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
A Hidden Life
Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter
Clemency
Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong
The Farewell**WINNER
Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng
Marriage Story
Producers: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman
Uncut Gems
Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Scott Rudin
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Booksmart**WINNER
Director: Olivia Wilde
Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman
The Climb
Director/Producer: Michael Angelo Covino
Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin
Diane
Director: Kent Jones
Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Director/Producer: Joe Talbot
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh
The Mustang
Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
Producer: Ilan Goldman
See You Yesterday
Director: Stefon Bristol
Producer: Spike Lee
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.)
Burning Cane
Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans
Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer, Wendell Pierce, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans
Colewell
Writer/Director: Tom Quinn
Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm
Give Me Liberty**WINNER
Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky
Writer/Producer: Alice Austen
Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern
Premature
Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green
Writer: Zora Howard
Producer: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes
Wild Nights With Emily
Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek
Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron
BEST DIRECTOR
Alma Har’el, Honey Boy
Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers
Julius Onah, Luce
Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems**WINNER
BEST SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story**WINNER
Jason Begue, Shawn Snyder, To Dust
Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
Chinonye Chukwu, Clemency
Tarell Alvin McCraney, High Flying Bird
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Fredrica Bailey & Stefon Bristol, See You Yesterday**WINNER
Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen, Driveways
Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy, Blow the Man Down
Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe, Greener Grass
James Montague & Craig W. Sanger, The Vast of Night
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Todd Banhazl, Hustlers
Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse**WINNER
Natasha Braier, Honey Boy
Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife
Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommar
BEST EDITING
Julie Béziau, The Third Wife
Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems**WINNER
Tyler L. Cook, Sword of Trust
Louise Ford, The Lighthouse
Kirill Mikhanovsky, Give Me Liberty
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Karen Allen, Colewell
Hong Chau, Driveways
Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell
Mary Kay Place, Diane
Alfre Woodard, Clemency
Renée Zellweger, Judy **WINNER
BEST MALE LEAD
Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty
Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luce
Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse
Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems**WINNER
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Taylor Russell, Waves
Lauren “LoLo” Spencer, Give Me Liberty
Octavia Spencer, Luce
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell**WINNER
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse**WINNER
Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy
Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
Marriage Story
Director: Noah Baumbach
Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
American Factory**WINNER
Director/Producer: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert
Producers: Julie Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert
Apollo 11
Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller
Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Petersen
For Sama
Director: Edward Watts
Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab
Honeyland
Director: Tamara Kotevska
Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov
Producer: Atanas Georgiev
Island of the Hungry Ghosts
Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady
Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Invisible Life, Brazil
Director: Karim Aïnouz
Les Misérables, France
Director: Ladj Ly
Parasite, South Korea**WINNER
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Portrait of a Lady on Fire, France
Director: Céline Sciamma
Retablo, Peru
Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L.
The Souvenir , United Kingdom
Director: Joanna Hogg
BONNIE AWARD – Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the third Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.
Marielle Heller
Kelly Reichardt**WINNER
Lulu Wang
PRODUCERS AWARD – The 23rd annual Producers Award 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.
Mollye Asher
Krista Parris
Ryan Zacarias
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 26th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Rashaad Ernesto Green, Director of Premature
Ash Mayfair, Director of The Third Wife
Joe Talbot, Director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 25th annual Truer Than Fiction Award 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.
Khalik Allah, Director of Black Mother
Davy Rothbart, Director of 17 Blocks
Nadia Shihab , Director of Jaddoland
Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside, Director of América