And the Film Independent Spirit Award Winners Are. . .

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the LA Film Festival, handed out honors to Call Me by Your Name, Get Out, I, Tonya, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Big Sick, Ingrid Goes West and Lady Bird at the 33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday. Life and Nothing More, Faces Places and A Fantastic Woman also received awards at the ceremony, which was held on the beach in Santa Monica. In addition to being the celebration that honors artist-driven films made with an economy of means by filmmakers whose films embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision, the Spirit Awards is the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs.

Clips from the ceremony are available on Film Independent’s YouTube channel after the show.

This year’s major winners were Get Out, which won Best Feature and Best Director; Call Me by Your Name, which won Best Male Lead and Best Cinematography; I, Tonya, which won Best Supporting Female and Best Editing; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which won Best Female Lead and Best Supporting Male; Lady Bird, which won Best Screenplay; Ingrid Goes West, which won Best First Feature; The Big Sick, which won Best First Screenplay; Life and Nothing More, which won the John Cassavetes Award; Faces Places which won Best Documentary and A Fantastic Woman, which won Best International Film.

The 11th annual Robert Altman Award was given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. Mudbound director Dee Rees received this award, along with casting directors Billy Hopkins and Ashley Ingram as well as cast members Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan and Carey Mulligan.

The 2018 Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation Fellowship annually selects an outstanding filmmaker and participant in Project Involve, Film Independent’s longest running diversity and mentorship program, now in its 25th year. The fellowship includes an unrestricted cash grant of $10,000 and was awarded to writer/director Faren Humes, a distinct and bold new voice.

Previously on January 6, the following winners were honored at the Spirit Awards Nominee Brunch hosted by John Cho and Alia Shawkat at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood: Chloé Zhao received the inaugural Bonnie Award. Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the Bonnie Award recognizes a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant sponsored by American Airlines. Finalists for the award were So Yong Kim and Lynn Shelton.

Jonathan Olshefski, director of Quest, received the Jeepâ 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 23rd year and includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant sponsored by the Jeep brand for the first year. Finalists for the award were Shevaun Mizrahi, director of Distant Constellation and Jeff Unay, director of The Cage Fighter.

Justin Chon, director of Gook, received the Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award. The award recognizes talented filmmakers of singular vision who have not yet received appropriate recognition. The award is in its 24th year and includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851 for the fourth consecutive year. Finalists for the award were Amman Abbasi, director of Dayveon and Kevin Phillips, director of Super Dark Times.

Summer Shelton 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 21st year, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant sponsored by Piaget for the 11th year. Finalists for the award were Giulia Caruso & Ki Jin Kim and Ben Leclair.

Matty Brown received the Seattle Story Award. The award is for a filmmaker who exhibits innovation, diversity and uniqueness of vision while having a history of transforming perspectives through rich stories. The award includes a $25,000 cash grant, sponsored by Visit Seattle, to create a short film inspired by Seattle’s deep textures and independent spirit. This film, Dreamcatcher, premiered during the Spirit Awards broadcast and can be seen online at VISITSEATTLE.tv.

AND THE SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS ARE:

Best Feature:

Get Out (Universal Pictures) – Producers: Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele

Best Director:

Jordan Peele, Get Out (Universal Pictures)

Best Screenplay:

Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird (A24)

Best First Feature:

Ingrid Goes West (NEON)

Director: Matt Spicer, Producers: Jared Ian Goldman, Adam Mirels, Robert Mirels, Aubrey Plaza, Tim White, Trevor White

INGRID GOES WEST. Best First Feature. copyright 2018 elias entertainment

Best First Screenplay:

Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick (Amazon Studios)

John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000):

Life and Nothing More (CFI Releasing)

Writer/Director: Antonio Méndez Esparza, Producers: Amadeo Hernández Bueno, Alvaro Portanet Hernández, Pedro Hernández Santos

Antonio Mendez Esparza and Pedro Hernandez Santos, LIFE & NOTHING MORE. John Cassavetes Award winner. copyright 2018 elias entertainment

Best Supporting Female:

Allison Janney, I, Tonya (NEON)

Best Supporting Male:

Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight)

Best Female Lead:

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight)

Best Male Lead:

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics)

Robert Altman Award:

Mudbound (Netflix) – Director: Dee Rees; Casting Directors: Billy Hopkins, Ashley Ingram; Ensemble Cast: Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan

Best Cinematography:

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me by Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics)