Spirit Awards 2015: The Complete Winners List
The 30th Independent Spirit Awards ceremony was held on the beach in Santa Monica, with Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Birdman taking the top honors in the best feature category. The show was aired live on IFC.
A complete list of winners can be found below:
2015 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS
BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (WINNER)
Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole
Boyhood
Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland
Love is Strange
Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy
Selma
Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey
Whiplash
Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michael Litvak
Related: Spirit Awards 2015: ‘Birdman’ Wins Best Feature
BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater (WINNER)
Boyhood
Damien Chazelle
Whiplash
Ava DuVernay
Selma
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
David Zellner
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
BEST SCREENPLAY
Dan Gilroy (WINNER)
Nightcrawler
Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor
A Most Violent Year
Jim Jarmusch
Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias
Love is Strange
BEST FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)
Nightcrawler (WINNER)
Director: Dan Gilroy
Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Producers: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah
Dear White People
Director/Producer: Justin Simien
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe
Obvious Child
Director: Gillian Robespierre
Producer: Elisabeth Holm
She’s Lost Control
Director/Producer: Anja Marquardt
Producers: Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Justin Simien (WINNER)
Dear White People
Desiree Akhavan
Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo
Little Accidents
Justin Lader
The One I Love
Anja Marquardt
She’s Lost Control
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Julianne Moore (WINNER)
Still Alice
Marion Cotillard
The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
Jenny Slate
Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton
Only Lovers Left Alive
BEST MALE LEAD
Michael Keaton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
André Benjamin
Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal
Nightcrawler
John Lithgow
Love is Strange
David Oyelowo
Selma
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Patricia Arquette (WINNER)
Jessica Chastain
Carmen Ejogo
Andrea Suarez Paz
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
J.K. Simmons (WINNER)
Whiplash
Riz Ahmed
Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke
Boyhood
Alfred Molina
Love is Strange
Edward Norton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki (WINNER)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Darius Khondji
The Immigrant
Sean Porter
It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young
Selma
BEST EDITING
Sandra Adair
Boyhood
John Gilroy
Nightcrawler
Ron Patane
A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard
The Guest
BEST DOCUMENTARY
(Award given to the director and producer)
CITIZENFOUR (WINNER)
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky
20,000 Days on Earth
Directors: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Producers: Dan Bowen, James Wilson
Stray Dog
Director: Debra Granik
Producer: Anne Rosellini
The Salt of the Earth
Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders
Producer: David Rosier
Virunga
Director/Producer: Orlando von Einsiedel
Producer: Joanna Natasegara
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.
Land Ho! (WINNER)
Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens
Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy
Blue Ruin
Writer/Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Producers: Richard Peete, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
It Felt Like Love
Writer/Director/Producer: Eliza Hittman
Producers: Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner
Man From Reno
Writer/Director: Dave Boyle
Writers: Joel Clark, Michael Lerman
Producer: Ko Mori
Test
Writer/Director/Producer: Chris Mason Johnson
Producer: Chris Martin
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
(Award given to the director)
Ida (Poland) (WINNER)
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Force Majeure (Sweden)
Director: Ruben Östlund
Leviathan (Russia)
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Mommy (Canada)
Director: Xavier Dolan
Norte, the End of History (Philippines)
Director: Lav Diaz
Under the Skin (United Kingdom)
Director: Jonathan Glazer
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis
Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon
SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
Foxcatcher
Director/Producer: Bennett Miller
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik
Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman
Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum
18th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
The 18th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, 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 funded by Piaget.
Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm
Chris Ohlson
21st ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
The 21st annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
H.
Directors: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia
The Retrieval
Director: Chris Eska
20th ANNUAL LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The 20th annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters 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 funded by LensCrafters.
Approaching the Elephant
Director: Amanda Rose Wilder
Evolution of a Criminal
Director: Darius Clark Monroe
The Kill Team
Director: Dan Krauss
The Last Season
Director: Sara Dosa