Spirit Awards: ‘The Farewell’ wins Best Feature, Adam Sandler named Best Actor
The voters of the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards named The Farewell, from writer/director Lulu Wang as the Best Feature of 2019. It’s co-star Zhao Shuzhen also won Supporting Female in an upset over favorite Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers.
In her acceptance speech Wang talked about the conversation of having more women filmmakers, saying “We don’t have to encourage women, there are lots of women making films and who want to make films. Give women the freaking job. Give them the money! Don’t make them run through that many hoops!”
The Farewell‘s win marks the first time in the Spirit Awards 35-year history that a non-Best Picture Oscar nominee won against a film that is (Marriage Story).
In one of the most un-Oscary lineups in a while for the Film Independent Spirit Awards, The Lighthouse and Uncut Gems went into today with the most nominations at five apiece. The Lighthouse took home two awards, Supporting Male for Willem Dafoe and Best Cinematography while Uncut Gems won three: Best Director for the Safdie Bros, Male Lead for Adam Sandler and Best Editing. Sandler provided a long speech that was largely in one of his caricature voices, beginning with “Hello my name is Adam Sandler.…” and then thanked his family, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Scott Rudin and then riffed on his perceived Oscar snub comparing it to the time he lost Best Looking in high school but was named Best Personality instead (“And tonight as I look around this room, I realize the independent is Spirit Awards are the best personality awards of Hollywood”).
Renée Zellweger was named Best Female Lead for her role as Judy Garland in Judy. With this win, Zellweger becomes the 6th woman this decade to win Critics Choice, the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA and Spirit Award on their way to an Oscar win, which Zellweger is surely to achieve tomorrow night.
Marriage Story was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts.
At the Film Independent Spirit Awards Brunch in January, the grant winners were announced for the Bonnie Award (Kelly Reichardt), Producers Award (Mollye Asher), Someone to Watch Award (Rashaad Ernesto Green) and Truer Than Fiction Award (Nadia Shihab).
The 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be hosted for the second year in a row by Aubrey Plaza, who entertained audiences with her Judy Garland opening short film and number and later in a riff off of The Lighthouse with Michael Shannon. The event was once again held inside a tent setting on a beach in Santa Monica, California.
Here is the full list of nominees with winners in bold.
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded)
A Hidden Life
Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter
Clemency
Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong
WINNER – The Farewell
Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu
Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng
Marriage Story
Producers: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman
Uncut Gems
Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Scott Rudin
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
WINNER Booksmart
Director: Olivia Wilde
Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison,
Katie Silberman
The Climb
Director/Producer: Michael Angelo Covino
Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin
Diane
Director: Kent Jones
Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Director/Producer: Joe Talbot
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh
The Mustang
Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
Producer: Ilan Goldman
See You Yesterday
Director: Stefon Bristol
Producer: Spike Lee
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)
Burning Cane
Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans
Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer,
Wendell Pierce, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans
Colewell
Writer/Director: Tom Quinn
Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm
WINNER – Give Me Liberty
Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky
Writer/Producer: Alice Austen
Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern
Premature
Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green
Writer: Zora Howard
Producer: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes
Wild Nights With Emily
Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek
Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron
BEST DIRECTOR
- Alma Har’el, Honey Boy
- Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers
- Julius Onah, Luce
- Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
- WINNER – Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
BEST SCREENPLAY
- WINNER – Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
- Jason Begue and Shawn Snyder, To Dust
- Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
- Chinonye Chukwu, Clemency
- Tarell Alvin McCraney, High Flying Bird
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
- WINNER – Fredrica Bailey & Stefon Bristol, See You Yesterday
- Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen, Driveways
- Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy, Blow the Man Down
- Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe, Greener Grass
- James Montague & Craig W. Sanger, The Vast of Night
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Todd Banhazl, Hustlers
- WINNER – Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse
- Natasha Braier, Honey Boy
- Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife
- Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommar
BEST EDITING
- Julie Béziau, The Third Wife
- WINNER – Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems
- Tyler L. Cook, Sword of Trust
- Louise Ford, The Lighthouse
- Kirill Mikhanovsky, Give Me Liberty
BEST FEMALE LEAD
- Karen Allen, Colewell
- Hong Chau, Driveways
- Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell
- Mary Kay Place, Diane
- Alfre Woodard, Clemency
- WINNER – Renée Zellweger, Judy
BEST MALE LEAD
- Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty
- Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luce
- Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse
- Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang
- WINNER – Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
- Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
- Taylor Russell, Waves
- Lauren “LoLo” Spencer, Give Me Liberty
- Octavia Spencer, Luce
- WINNER – Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
- WINNER – Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
- Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
- Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy
- Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
Marriage Story
Director: Noah Baumbach
Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson,
Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
- WINNER – American Factory
Director/Producer: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert
Producers: Julie Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert - Apollo 11
Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller
Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Petersen - For Sama
Director: Edward Watts
Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab - Honeyland
Director: Tamara Kotevska
Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov
Producer: Atanas Georgiev - Island of the Hungry Ghosts
Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady
Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
- Invisible Life
Brazil
Director: Karim Aïnouz - Les Misérables
France
Director: Ladj Ly - WINNER – Parasite
South Korea
Director: Bong Joon-Ho - Portrait of a Lady on Fire
France
Director: Céline Sciamma - Retablo
Peru
Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L. - The Souvenir
United Kingdom
Director: Joanna Hogg
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 third Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.
- Marielle Heller
- WINNER – Kelly Reichardt
- Lulu Wang
PRODUCERS AWARD – The 23rd annual Producers Award 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.
- WINNER – Mollye Asher
- Krista Parris
- Ryan Zacarias
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 26th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
- WINNER – Rashaad Ernesto Green
Director of Premature - Ash Mayfair
Director of The Third Wife - Joe Talbot
Director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 25th annual Truer Than Fiction Award 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.
- Khalik Allah
Director of Black Mother - Davy Rothbart
Director of 17 Blocks - WINNER – Nadia Shihab
Director of Jaddoland - Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside
Director of América
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2025 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTRESS (November) - November 20, 2024
- ‘Sugarcane,’ ‘Soundtrack to A Coup d’Etat’ Lead 40th IDA Documentary Awards Nominations - November 20, 2024
- AwardsWatch Partners with Vision Media to Revolutionize the Awards Season Experience - November 20, 2024
2025 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTRESS (November) 
‘Sugarcane,’ ‘Soundtrack to A Coup d’Etat’ Lead 40th IDA Documentary Awards Nominations 
AwardsWatch Partners with Vision Media to Revolutionize the Awards Season Experience 
Interview: ‘The Substance’ Special Makeup Effects Designer Pierre-Olivier Persin on Transforming Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley into a Funhouse of Horror and Using 4,000 Gallons of Blood