The romantic drama Call Me by Your Name went into the 2018 Spirit Awards with the most nominations (six) and won two, including Best Male Lead (Timothée Chalamet). Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri also collected two wins as did I, Tonya. However, the big winner at this year’s Spirit Awards was the timely horror film, Get Out.
Get Out‘s Jordan Peele won Best Director and the movie earned the Best Feature award, becoming only the second horror film in Spirit Awards history to win in that category.
The 2018 Spirit Awards took place on Saturday, March 3rd in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The annual awards ceremony honors the best in independent films and is always held on the day prior to the Oscars. The 2018 Spirit Awards was hosted by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney who began the show by skewering Brett Ratner, Woody Allen, Kevin Spacey, and Harvey Weinstein.
Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees and Winners:
BEST FEATURE
Call Me by Your Name
The Florida Project
WINNER: Get Out
Lady Bird
The Rider
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Columbus
WINNER: Ingrid Goes West
Menashe
Oh Lucy!
Patti Cake$
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000
Dayveon
A Ghost Story
WINNER: Life and nothing more
Most Beautiful Island
The Transfiguration
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
Donald Cried
WINNER: The Big Sick
Women Who Kill
Columbus
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
WINNER: Faces Places
Last Men in Aleppo
Motherland
Quest
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
BPM (Beats Per Minute) – France
WINNER: A Fantastic Woman – Chile
I Am Not a Witch – Zambia
Lady Macbeth – U.K.
Loveless – Russia
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
Director of Distant Constellation
WINNER: Jonathan Olshefski
Director of Quest
Jeff Unay
Director of 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
Director of Dayveon
WINNER: Justin Chon
Director of Gook
Kevin Phillips
Director of 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
