WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2013 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS
LOS ANGELES (February 23, 2013) – 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 this afternoon’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.
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 Entertainment 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.
AND THE WINNERS ARE. . . . .
Best Feature
Silver Linings Playbook
The Weinstein Company
Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon
Best Director
David O. Russell
The Weinstein Company
Silver Linings Playbook
Best Screenplay
David O. Russell
The Weinstein Company
Silver Linings Playbook
Best First Feature
Thee Perks of Being A Wallflower
Summit Entertainment
Writer/Director: Stephen Chbosky
Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith
Best First Screenplay
Derek Connolly
FilmDistrict
Safety Not Guaranteed
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
Fox Searchlight
The Sessions
Best Supporting Male
Matthew McConaughey
Warner Bros. Pictures
Magic Mike
Best Female Lead
Jennifer Lawrence
The Weinstein Company
Silver Linings Playbook
Best Male Lead
John Hawkes
Fox Searchlight
The Sessions
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
Fox Searchlight
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best International Film
Amour
Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Michael Haneke
(France)
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.
