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Saturday, February 23, 2019

34th Film Independent Spirit Awards winners & scene

Film Flam Flummox


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
But as with every year, the winners of the trophies is but a part of the whole story, for the casual, laid-back, highly unpretentious atmosphere of the event makes this awards season stop a true overall experience and not merely an awards show, with all the activity and mingling in the area around the tent just as celebratory and entertaining as the official happenings inside. Here are some visual highlights from my live Instagram and Twitter coverage today, with video of winners' backstage interviews to be posted later tonight.


View of awards tent site from Santa Monica Pier
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Backstage interview stage
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Photographer room stage
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Richard E. Grant, Best Supporting Male winner
for Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Bo Burnham, Best First Screenplay winner
for Eighth Grade
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Leave No Trace director Debra Granik,
Bonnie Award winner
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Roma director Alfonso Cuarón,
Best International Film winner
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Sorry to Bother You director Boots Riley,
Best First Feature winner
(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)


Joe Bini, Best Editing winner
for You Were Never Really Here
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty, Best Screenplay winners
for Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Glenn Close, Best Female Lead winner
for The Wife
(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)


Subaru display
(photo by Michael Dequina)


DirecTV bungalow, presented by AT&T
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Hangar 1 Vodka bar
(photo by Michael Dequina)


Maestro Dobel Tequila bar
(photo by Michael Dequina)


(photo by Michael Dequina)



(Special thanks to Ginsberg/Libby and Film Independent for their generous help every year)


The Movie Report wants to attend all your film awards events! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

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