Film Independent honours 2023 Spirit Awards winners at annual ceremony

Film Independent, the nonprofit organisation dedicated to fostering independence and inclusivity in visual storytelling, handed out top honours at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Hosted by acclaimed comedian Hasan Minhaj, the awards ceremony was broadcast live on IMDb’s YouTube channel, as well as Film Independent’s YouTube and Twitter accounts. The Spirit Awards are Film Independent’s largest annual celebration, making year-round programming for filmmakers and film loving audiences possible while amplifying the voices of independent storytellers and celebrating their diversity, originality and uniqueness of vision.

This year’s ceremony, the 38^th in Film Independent’s history, was marked by a number of firsts. Most notable was a switch to gender neutral acting categories, as well as the introduction of a Best Breakthrough Performance award.

Leading the way among the award winners was Everything Everywhere All At Once, which ended the ceremony with seven wins. These included Best Feature, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Best Lead Performance for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Performance for Ke Huy Quan, Best Breakthrough Performance for Stephanie Hsu and Best Editing for Paul Rogers. Among the other films and artists honoured, Aftersun won Best First Feature; John Patton Ford won Best First Screenplay for Emily the Criminal; Florian Hoffmeister of TÁR won Best Cinematography; Joyland won Best International Film; and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed won Best Documentary.

For the third time in its history, this year’s Spirit Awards also honoured exceptional content in television. This year’s major winners in the TV categories were The Bear which won Best New Scripted Series and Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series for Ayo Edebiri; The Rehearsal, which won Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series; Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary, who won Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series; and Pachinko, which won Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series.

The 15th annual Robert Altman Award, which was created in 2008 in honour of legendary film director Robert Altman, who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts, was awarded to Women Talking director Sarah Polley, alongside casting directors John Buchan and Jason Knight, as well as ensemble cast members Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, August Winter and Ben Whishaw.

Also celebrated were The Cathedral with the John Cassavetes Award, given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (raised from $500,000 in previous years); Nikyatu Jusu of Nanny with the Someone to Watch Award, recognising a filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition; Reid Davenport of I Didn’t See You There with the Truer Than Fiction Award, presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has yet to receive significant recognition; and Tory Lenosky with the Producers Award, honoring emerging producers who demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films with limited resources.

The winners of the Film Independent Spirit Awards are voted on by Film Independent Members. Membership is open to the public.

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The following is a complete list of the winners:

FILM CATEGORIES

Best Cinematography

Florian Hoffmeister, TÁR (Focus Features)

Best Feature

Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)

Producers: Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang

Best Director

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)

Best Screenplay

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)

Best First Feature

Aftersun (A24)

Director: Charlotte Wells

Producers: Mark Ceryak, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski

Best First Screenplay

John Patton Ford, Emily the Criminal (Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment)

John Cassavetes Award

(for best feature made under $1,000,000)

The Cathedral (MUBI)

Writer/Director: Ricky D’Ambrose

Producer: Graham Swon

Best Breakthrough Performance

Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)

Best Supporting Performance

Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)

Best Lead Performance

Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)

Robert Altman Award

Women Talking (Orion Releasing/United Artists Releasing)

Director: Sarah Polley

Casting Directors: John Buchan, Jason Knight

Ensemble Cast: Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, August Winter, Ben Whishaw

Best Editing

Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)

Best International Film

Joyland (Oscilloscope)

Director: Saim Sadiq

Best Documentary

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (NEON)

Director/Producer: Laura Poitras

Producers: Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons

Someone to Watch

Nikyatu Jusu, Nanny (Amazon Studios) 

Truer Than Fiction

Reid Davenport, I Didn’t See You There (POV)

Producers Award

Tory Lenosky

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

Best New Scripted Series

The Bear (FX)

Creator/Executive Producer: Christopher Storer

Executive Producers: Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, Hiro Murai

Co-Executive Producer: Rene Gube

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series

The Rehearsal (HBO/HBO Max)

Creator/Executive Producer: Nathan Fielder

Executive Producers: Dave Paige, Dan McManus, Christie Smith

Co-Executive Producers: Carrie Kemper, Eric Notarnicola

Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series

Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (FX)

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series

Pachinko (Apple+)

Ensemble Cast: Jin Ha, Lee Minho, Minha Kim, Soji Arai, Inji Jeong, Kaho Minami, Steve Sanghyun Noh, Anna Sawai, Jimmi Simpson, Yuh-jung Youn