“Get Out” Wins Top Awards at 33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards

Universal

The 33rd annual Film Independent Spirit Awards were given out on Saturday evening, March 3, at a ceremony on the Santa Monica Pier hosted by John Mulaney and Nick Kroll of “Oh, Hello” fame. Presenters included Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Chadwick Boseman, Timothée Chalamet, Ava DuVernay, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Spike Lee, Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Olsen, Robert Pattinson and more.

Jordan Peele’s Get Out won the top award for Best Feature while Peele received the award for Best Director, continuing the film’s amazing run since opening a year ago.  (Although it was marketed and distributed by Universal, the film fell under the $20 million budget gap that makes a film eligible for the Film Independent awards.)

Timothée Chalamet won Best Male Lead for Call Me By Your Name with no Gary Oldman to hold him back. Frances McDormand won Best Female Lead for Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, while Sam Rockwell won Best Supporting Male for the same film, paving the way for both actors to win Oscars tomorrow night. Allison Janney won the award for Best Supporting Female for her role in I, Tonya, for which she’s also nominated at the Oscars tomorrow night.

Greta Gerwig won Best Screenplay for Lady Bird over Martin McDonagh and Jordan Peele, who are nominated with her for Original Screenplay at the Oscars.

Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West won Best First Feature, while Kumhail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s screenplay for The Big Sick won Best First Screenplay.

Sebastian Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman won Best International Film, and it’s the only nominee in the category that’s nominated for an Oscar tomorrow night. Faces Places received the Spirit for

Dee Rees’ Mudbound was awarded the Robert Altman Award, given to a film’s director, casting director and cast.

The Rider director Chloe Zhao won the first ever Bonnie Award, which recognizes a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant. It was one of the four nominations for the film, which is quite fantastic.

The full list of winners can be found below:

BEST FEATURE

Call Me by Your Name
The Florida Project
**WINNER: Get Out**
Lady Bird
The Rider      

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Columbus
Director: Kogonada

**WINNER: Ingrid Goes West
Director: Matt Spicer**

Menashe
Director/Producer: Joshua Z. Weinstein

Oh Lucy!
Director/Producer: Atsuko Hirayanagi

Patti Cake$
Director: Geremy Jasper

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD– Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

Dayveon
Writer/Director/Producer: Amman Abbasi

A Ghost Story
Writer/Director: David Lowery

**WINNER: Life and nothing more
Writer/Director: Antonio Méndez Esparza**

Most Beautiful Island
Writer/Director/Producer: Ana Asensio

The Transfiguration
Writer/Director: Michael O’Shea

BEST DIRECTOR

Sean Baker – The Florida Project
Jonas Carpignano – A Ciambra
Luca Guadagnino – Call Me by Your Name
**WINNER: Jordan Peele – Get Out**
Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – Good Time
Chloé Zhao – The Rider       

BEST SCREENPLAY

**WINNER: Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird**
Azazel Jacobs – The Lovers
Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Jordan Peele – Get Out
Mike White – Beatriz at Dinner

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Kris Avedisian – Donald Cried
**WINNER: Emily V. Gordon,Kumail Nanjiani – The Big Sick**
Ingrid Jungermann – Women Who Kill
Kogonada – Columbus
David Branson Smith,Matt Spicer – Ingrid Goes West

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Thimios Bakatakis – The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Elisha Christian – Columbus
Hélène Louvart – Beach Rats
**WINNER: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Call Me by Your Name**
Joshua James Richards – The Rider

BEST EDITING         

Ronald Bronstein,Benny Safdie – Good Time
Walter Fasano – Call Me by Your Name
Alex O’Flinn – The Rider
Gregory Plotkin – Get Out
**WINNER: Tatiana S. Riegel – I, Tonya**          

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Salma Hayek – Beatriz at Dinner
**WINNER: Frances McDormand – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri**
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
Shinobu Terajima – Oh Lucy!
Regina Williams – Life and nothing more

BEST MALE LEAD

**WINNER: Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name**
Harris Dickinson – Beach Rats
James Franco – The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Robert Pattinson – Good Time     

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Holly Hunter – The Big Sick
**WINNER: Allison Janney – I, Tonya**
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
Lois Smith – Marjorie Prime
Taliah Lennice Webster – Good Time

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Nnamdi Asomugha – Crown Heights
Armie Hammer – Call Me by Your Name
Barry Keoghan – The Killing of a Sacred Deer
**WINNER: Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri**
Benny Safdie – Good Time

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast           

Mudbound
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 DOCUMENTARY

The Departure
Director/Producer: Lana Wilson

**WINNER: Faces Places
Directors: Agnés Varda, JR
Producer: Rosalie Varda**

Last Men in Aleppo
Director: Feras Fayyad
Producers: Kareem Abeed, Søeren Steen Jespersen, Stefan Kloos

Motherland
Director/Producer: Ramona S. Diaz
Producer: Rey Cuerdo

Quest
Director: Jonathan Olshefski
Producer: Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

BPM (Beats Per Minute)

France
Director: Robin Campillo

**WINNER: A Fantastic Woman
Chile
Director: Sebastián Lelio**

I Am Not a Witch
Zambia
Director: Rungano Nyoni

Lady Macbeth
U.K.
Director: William Oldroyd

Loveless
Russia
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev

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 inaugural Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.

So Yong Kim
Lynn Shelton
**WINNER: Chloé Zhao**

JEEP TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 23rd annual Truer Than Fiction Award, funded by the Jeep brand, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by the Jeep brand.

Shevaun Mizrahi, Distant Constellation
**WINNER: Jonathan Olshefski. Quest**
Jeff Unay, The Cage Fighter

KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 24th annual Someone to Watch Award, funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.

Amman Abbasi, Dayveon
**WINNER: Justin Chon, Gook**
Kevin Phillips, Super Dark Times

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 21st annual Producers Award, funded by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Giulia Caruso & Ki Jin Kim
Ben LeClair
**WINNER: Summer Shelton**

 Edward Douglas | East Coast Editor