The 2024 Independent Film Spirit Awards on Sunday awarded A24 Past life Best Feature Film and Best Director Celine Song at a ceremony on the beach in Santa Monica, giving the indie romantic drama a boost as it heads toward the Oscars where it competes for Best Picture.
Past life It topped the Best Featured Feature category which included Netflix May DecemberAmazon MGM Studios American fantasythe scout We are all strangersSony Pictures Classics' We have grown now And mobi Corridors.
“There is a concept in our film, an oriental concept, and it is called inyeon“It's about how being in the same place and time in this life means we already know each other for many, many lives that came before this one,” Song, in her directorial debut, said in her acceptance speech with producers and actors.
“I think while making this film, I felt that way about everyone on stage here… It feels like I've gotten to where I feel so much less alone because I know everyone here feels the same way — so thank you so much for everything.”
Winner of last year's Spirit Award for Best Picture, Everything everywhere at oncealso from A24, won the Oscar for Best Picture.
The other Oscar nominees did well today, with Jeffrey Wright winning Best Leading Performance for his film American fantasywhich also won Best Screenplay for writer-director Cord Jefferson; May December Writers Sammy Burch and Alex Mechanic won Best First Screenplay.
Past Lives, American Fiction And May December Today came tied for the most nominations with five. They were focus features keepers, An Oscar nominee for Best Picture but not a nominee for Best Picture here today, which took home the most awards with three: for frontrunner Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Best Supporting Performance, Dominic Cessa for Outstanding Performance, and Eagle Braille for Cinematography.
Other winners included in today's Oscars Anatomy of a fall Which won the Best International Film award Four girls Which won the Best Documentary Award.
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The TV side has had multiple wins for The last of us (acting performances by Nick Offerman, Kevon Montreal Woodard), and meatwhich won for Best New Scripted Series and for Ally Wong, who even beat out co-star Steven Yeun in the Best Gender-Neutral Lead Performance in the New Scripted Series category.
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Today's live stream ceremony, which was ably hosted Saturday Night Live Alum Aidy Bryant was occasionally interrupted by the sounds of a pro-Palestinian protester outside the event tent; His chants of “Long live Palestine” and “Ceasefire now” were heard during several speeches thanks to his use of a loudspeaker. Several speakers on stage noticed the noise, which continued for most of the show.
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Here's the full list of today's Spirit Awards winners:
Best feature
(given to the producer)
Past life
Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
Best bullet performance
Jeffrey Wright
American fantasy
Best director
Celine song
Past life
Best first feature
(The award is given to the director and producer)
One thousand and one
Director: AV Rockwell
Producers: Julia Lebedev, Rishi Rajani, Eddie Weisman, Lena Waithe, Brad Weston
Best super performance
Dominic Sessa
Retainers
John Cassavetes Award
(Awarded for best film under $1 million; award goes to writer, director, and producer)
Fremont
Director/Writer: Babak Jalali
Writer: Carolina Cavalli
Producers: Rachel Fung, Chris Martin, Morgana Mojemi, George Rush, Sodnia Shroff, Laura Wagner
Best cinematography
Eagle Braid
Retainers
Best editing
Daniel Garber
How to blow up a pipeline
Best new written series
(Given to Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
meat
Creator/Executive Producer: Lee Seung Jin
Executive Producers: Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Jake Schreier, Ravi Nandan, Allie Reich
Co-executive producers: Alice Jo, Carrie Kemper
Best Lead Performance in a New Written Series
Ali Wong
meat
Best New Unscripted or Documentary Series
(The award is given to the creator, executive producer, and co-executive producer)
Dear Mama
Executive Producers: Lacey Järvi, Quincy 'QD3' Jones III, Stacy Robinson, Nelson George, Charles D. King, Peter Nelson, Adel 'Future' Nour, Jamal Joseph, Ted Skillman, Allen Hughes, Steve Berman, Mark Cimino, Jodi Gerson, John Janek, Nicholas Verrall, Nigel Sinclair
Best scenario
Cord Jefferson
American fantasy
Best first screenplay
Sammy Burch; Story by Sammy Burch and Alex Mechanic
May December
Best international film
(Given to the manager)
Anatomy of a fall
France
Director: Justin Treat
Best Outstanding Performance in a New Scripted Series
Kevon Montreal Woodard
The last of us
Best Documentary Film
(Submitted to the director and producer)
Four girls
Directed by: Kawthar Ben Hania
Producer: Nadim Sheikhrouha
Best Supporting Performance in a New Written Series
Nick Offerman
The last of us
Best supporting performance
Davin Joy Randolph
Retainers
Previously announced
Truer Than Fiction Award.
(Submitted to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition)
Hernandez appointment
exit: invisible
Robert Altman Award
(Awarded to one film director, casting director, and ensemble cast)
show
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Casting Director: Gayle Keller
Cast: Andre Benjamin, Hong Zhao, Judd Hirsch, Heather Lawless, James Le Gros, John Magaro, Matt Malloy, Amanda Plummer, Marian Plunkett, Denzel Rodriguez, Michelle Williams.
Producers Award
(Honoring emerging producers who, despite very limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, perseverance and vision required to produce high-quality independent films)
Monique Walton
Person to Watch Award
(In honor of the talented director with a unique vision who has not yet received proper appreciation)
Monica Sorel
Director: Mountains
Best cast in a new scripted series
Jury duty
Cast: Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, David Brown, Kirk Fox, Ross Kimball, Pramod Kumar, Trisha Lavash, Mickey Leiber, James Marsden, Eddie Modica, Kerry O'Neill, Rashida Olaiola, Whitney Rice, Maria Russell, Ishmael Shahid , Ben Seward, Ron Song, Evan Williams