Big wins for Barry Jenkins's adaptation of James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk marked a return to the "independent" part of the name of Film Independent's 34th Saturday-before-Oscar celebration of American independent film, the Spirit Awards, again taking place in a tent on Santa Monica beach adjacent to the famous Santa Monica Pier. In addition to the top prize of Best Feature, Barry Jenkins took home the Best Director trophy for the Annapurna Pictures production, as did Regina King for Best Supporting Female. The two other multiple award-winning films, winning two trophies each, occupied polar opposite ends of the spectrum: Fox Searchlight's Can You Ever Forgive Me?, recognized for Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty's screenplay and Richard E. Grant's Best Supporting Male performance; and Amazon Studios's reimagining of Suspiria from director Luca Guadagnino, honored for Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's cinematography as well as its ensemble cast, which won the previously announced Robert Altman Award. The full list of winners is as follows:
- Best Feature
If Beale Street Could Talk
Producers: Dede Gardner, Barry Jenkins, Jeremy Kleiner, Sara Murphy, Adele Romanski - Best Director
Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk - Best Screenplay
Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me? - Best First Feature
Sorry to Bother You
Director: Boots Riley
Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jonathan Duffy, Charles D. King, George Rush, Forest Whitaker, Kelly Williams - Best First Screenplay
Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade - John Cassavetes Award (for best feature made under $500,000)
En El Séptimo Día
Writer/Director/Producer: Jim McKay
Producers: Alex Bach, Lindsey Cordero, Caroline Kaplan, Michael Stipe - Best Supporting Female
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk - Best Supporting Male
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? - Best Female Lead
Glenn Close, The Wife - Best Male Lead
Ethan Hawke, Frist Reformed - Robert Altman Award
Suspiria
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Casting Directors: Avy Kaufman and Stella Savino
Ensemble Cast: Malgosia Bela, Ingrid Caven, Lutz Ebersdorf, Elena Fouina, Mia Goth, Jessica Harper, Dakota Johnson, Gala Moody, Chloë Grace Moretz, Fabrizia Sacchi, Renée Soutendijk, Tilda Swinton, Sylvie Testud, Angela Winkler - Best Cinematography
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Suspiria - Best Editing
Joe Bini, You Were Never Really Here - Best International Film
Roma (Mexico)
Director: Alfonso Cuarón - Best Documentary
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Director/Producer: Morgan Neville
Producers: Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma
Richard E. Grant, Best Supporting Male winner
for Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(photo by Michael Dequina)
Suspiria casting directors Stella Savino and Avy Kaufman
with cast members including
Dakota Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jessica Harper, and Tilda Swinton,
Robert Altman Award winners
(photo by Michael Dequina)
Won't You Be My Neighbor? director Morgan Neville
& producer Nicholas Ma,
Best Documentary winners
(photo by Michael Dequina)
En El Séptimo Día star Genoel Ramirez
and producers Lindsey Cordero & Caroline Kaplan,
John Cassavetes Award winners
(photo by Michael Dequina)
Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty, Best Screenplay winners
for Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(photo by Michael Dequina)
Barry Jenkins, Best Director winner
for If Beale Street Could Talk,
with fellow Best Feature winners, producers
Adele Romanski, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Sara Murphy
(photo by Michael Dequina)
(Special thanks to Ginsberg/Libby and Film Independent for their generous help every year)
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