The Independent Spirit Awards used to be held the day before the Oscars on a beach in Santa Monica, and while sticking to that paradigm would have made for a rainy, muddy day today in Los Angeles, moving it to last night and setting it in downtown's cavernous LA Live was just as ill-advised. The team from Precious was happy since the film picked up the lion's share of awards (such as Best Feature, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best First Screenplay), but grumbling over the corporate feel and red carpet gauntlet dominated talk among the attendees. Carly and I will have more from that carpet for you this weekend, but in the meantime, here is the full list of winners:
BEST FEATURE
Precious
BEST DIRECTOR
Lee Daniels, Precious
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Crazy Heart
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Humpday
BEST SCREENPLAY
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, 500 Days of Summer
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
BEST MALE LEAD
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Mo'Nique, Precious
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins, A Serious Man
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Sacha Gervasi, Anvil! The Story of Anvil
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Lone Scherfig, An Education
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
A Serious Man
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Karen Chien (The Exploding Girl & Santa Mesa)
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Kyle Patrick Alvarez (Easier with Practice)
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Bill Ross & Turner Ross (45365)