Film Independent Spirit Awards 2013 – winners

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, handed out top honors to Silver Linings Playbook, The Sessions and The Perks of Being A Wallflower at last night’s 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards. Beasts of the Southern Wild, Magic Mike, Amour and The Invisible War also received awards at the ceremony, which is held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

Tune in to IFC tonight at 10:00 pm ET/PT to catch all the action at the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards, with actor and writer Andy Samberg hosting. Highlights include: Samberg’s trademarked digital shorts and a surprise, courtesy of web phenomenon Bad Lip Reading.

This year’s major category winners were Silver Linings Playbook, which won Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Female Lead and The Sessions, which won Best Supporting Female and Best Male Lead; The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which won Best First Feature and Safety Not Guaranteed, which won Best First Screenplay; Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won Best Cinematography, Magic Mike, which won Best Supporting Male and Middle of Nowhere from AFFRM in partnership with Participant Media, which won the John Cassavetes Award; Sony Pictures Classics’ Amour, which won Best International Film and Cinedigm Entertainmet Group’s The Invisible War, which won Best Documentary. A Special Distinction Award was given posthumously to Cinematographer Harris Savides.

The 6th annual Robert Altman Award was given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast. Sean Baker’s Starlet received this award, along with casting directors Julia Kim and ensemble cast members Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone.
The 2013 Chaz and Roger Ebert Fellowship, which is awarded to a filmmaker in Project Involve, Film Independent’s diversity mentorship program and includes a cash grant of $10,000, was given to Melissa Haizlip, director of the documentary Mr. SOUL!. Haizlip is a Film Independent Fellow participating in Project Involve 2012-2013. Her film, which is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, was screened at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 41st Annual Independent Film Series in 2011.


The Spirit Awards were the first event to exclusively honor independent film, and over the past 28 years, has become the premier awards show for the independent film community, celebrating films made by filmmakers who embody independence and originality. Artists receiving industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Joel & Ethan Coen, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Edward Burns, Aaron Eckhart, Neil LaBute, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Hilary Swank, Marc Forster, Todd Field, Christopher Nolan, Zach Braff, Amy Adams and many more.


Nominations for the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards


Complete list of winners for the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards

Best Feature
Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

Best Director
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

Best Screenplay
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

Best First Feature
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit Entertainment)
Writer/Director: Stephen Chbosky / Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

Best First Screenplay
Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed (FilmDistrict)

John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000)
Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM in partnership with Participant Media)
Writer/Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay / Producers: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes

Best Supporting Female
Helen Hunt, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

Best Supporting Male
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (Warner Bros.Pictures)

Best Female Lead
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

Best Male Lead
John Hawkes, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

Robert Altman Award
Starlet (Music Box Films) Director: Sean Baker / Casting Director: Julia Kim / Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

Best Cinematography
Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)

Best International Film
Amour (France – Sony Pictures Classics) Director: Michael Haneke

Best Documentary
The Invisible War (Cinedigm Entertainment Group); Director: Kirby Dick / Producers: Amy Ziering, Tanner King Barklow

Special Distinction
Harris Savides

On January 12 the following winners were honored at the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grant and Nominee Brunch at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood:

Adam Leon, director of Gimme The Loot, received the Windows Phone Someone to Watch Award. The award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award, which is in its nineteenth year, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by the Windows Phone.

Peter Nicks, director of The Waiting Room received the Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award. The award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not received significant recognition. The award is in its eighteenth year and includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Stella Artois.

Mynette Louie received the Piaget Producers Award. The award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The annual award, in its sixteenth year, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Laura Colella for Breakfast With Curtis, which premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival, received the third annual Jameson FIND Your Audience Award. The award helps one low-budget independent film find a broader audience. The award included a $50,000 marketing and distribution grant, funded by Jameson® Irish Whiskey.