“The Return of the King” may have swept the Oscars this past Sunday night, but it was “Lost in Translation” that cleaned up at the IFP Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica the night before. Sofia Coppola’s film won Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead (Bill Murray) and Best Screenplay.
The following is a complete list of the winners:
Best Feature ^ Lost in Translation
Best Director ^ Sofia Coppola – Lost in Translation
Best Screenplay Sofia Coppola – Lost in Translation
Best First Feature ^ Monster – Director: Patty Jenkins
Best First Screenplay ^ The Station Agent – Thomas McCarthy
John Cassavetes Award ^ (For the Best Feature made for under $500,000) ^ The Station Agent
Best Debut Performance ^ Nikki Reed – Thirteen
Best Supporting Female ^ Shohreh Aghdashloo – House of Sand and Fog
Best Supporting Male ^ Djimon Hounsou – In America
Best Female Lead ^ Charlize Theron – Monster
Best Male Lead ^ Bill Murray – Lost in Translation
Best Cinematography ^ Declan Quinn – In America
Best Foreign Film ^ Whale Rider – Director: Niki Caro
Best Documentary ^ The Fog of War – Director: Errol Morris
Mary Jane Skalski, producer of The Station Agent and The Jimmy Show, received the seventh annual Producers Award, which honors producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films. The winner of the Producers Award received an unrestricted grant of $20,000.
Andrew Bujalski, director of Funny Ha Ha, won the tenth annual Turning Leaf Someone To Watch Award, a $20,000 grant created to honor a director of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award is funded by Turning Leaf Vineyards to help the winning filmmaker pursue his or her craft.
Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk, directors of “Lost Boys of Sudan,” won the seventh annual DIRECTV/IFC Truer Than Fiction Award, presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features; a filmmaker of unique vision and talent who has not yet received significant attention. The award is accompanied by a $20,000 unrestricted grant funded by DIRECTV and IFC.
The Special Distinction Award was given to the film 21 Grams, director Alejandro González Iñárritu, writer Guillermo Arriaga, producer Robert Salerno, and its stars Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts. “21 Grams” was ineligible for a Spirit Award because its budget, though still modest by studio standards, exceeded the Spirit Awards nomination guidelines.
