Independent Spirit Awards 2024: Best moments and biggest winners

Nick Offerman, Davenjoy Randolph

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The 39th Annual Independent Film Spirit Awards are underway, with the previous SNL And Intense Star Aidy Bryant hosts the party in Santa Monica.

RetainersDa’Vine Joy Randolph took home the evening’s top award for Best Supporting Performance, on the heels of her SAG Award pick-up on Saturday night for her role in the Focus Features film. “Retainers “It’s a beautiful testament to what can happen when a small group of passionate people have a chance to come together and tell a story,” Randolph said. “Independent films are the heartbeat of the industry, and they are worth fighting for.” Randolph’s Dominic Sessa won Best Superhero Performance for his first film role.

The John Cassavetes Award, which honors a film made for less than $1 million, went to Music Box Films. FremontWritten and directed by Babak Jalali. Jalali was the first winner that night to praise the protesters outside the tent, whose shouts of “Ceasefire Now” and “Free Palestine” began to disrupt the ceremony in its first hour. “There are people talking outside, and whatever they say, I think it’s much more important than what I’m going to say,” said Jalali, who suggested the protest was a distraction: “I’m very inspired by what they’re talking outside.” “I can’t think of what to say.” (“We’re on the beach, and people are exercising their freedom of speech,” host Aidy Bryant said shortly after the screaming was heard in the tent and on the live broadcast.)

Kino Lorber Four girls It won the award for best documentary film Anatomy of a fall It won the Best International Film award. May December The film won the award for Best First Screenplay, with writers Sammy Burch and Alex Mechanic receiving the award. How to blow up a pipeline Editing took better, while Retainers It won Best Cinematography.

American fantasy Writer-director Cord Jefferson won Best Screenplay. “Our film is so independent that I woke up one morning in our hotel to discover that there had been a triple stabbing the night before in the hotel lobby,” Jefferson said. “They were cleaning up the blood. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

In the TV categories, which honor new scripted series premiering in 2023, Netflix meat She won the award for Best New Scripted Series, while Ali Wong took home another award for her lead role in the limited series. foreign currency Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur It won Best New Unscripted/Documentary Series.

Nick Offerman won Best Supporting Performance for his role in the HBO series The last of us. “Thank you to HBO for having the courage to participate in this truly independent tradition of storytelling — stories with grit,” Offerman said, referring to the famous episode of the series that depicted a love story between the characters played by Offerman and fellow nominee Murray Bartlett. “When homophobic hate comes my way, and (someone) says, ‘Why did you have to make it a gay story?’ We say, ‘Because you ask questions like that. It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you idiot.’” The last of usKevon Montreal Woodard also won the HBO award for zombie drama, taking home the award for outstanding performance.

Free Jury duty It won Best Cast, with Alan Barinholtz (father of actors Ike and John) and James Marsden accepting the award on behalf of their co-stars.

Bryant kicked off the party to celebrate — and lightly roast — the independent film community. “I have to say, I was first introduced to a lot of indie filmmakers because my high school boyfriend would talk about you guys all the time while we were dry,” Bryant said. “I’m married now, so I’m learning a little bit about cinema.

“Today we celebrate the resilience and ingenuity of your work,” Bryant continued, concluding her opening remarks. “It’s very hard to make something – not to mention this city can be kind of tough, but this is Hollywood, baby. But not here. In this tent we say: ‘This is indie music, baby.'” If you’re an actress and you’re wearing your own shoes in the movie That’s indie, baby. When a screenplay spans 10 years and you shoot it in two weeks, that’s indie, baby. And when the solidarity of the WGA, SAG, Teamsters, and IATSE shows us the collective power of our work? That’s indie, baby.