The 30th Independent Spirit Awards occurred the eve before the Academy Awards. As the last rest stop on the Road to Oscars, viable winners for some of the top prizes were announced.
Best Feature
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
Love Is Strange
Selma
Whiplash
Best First Feature
Nightcrawler
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Dear White People
Obvious Child
She’s Lost Control
John Cassavetes Award
Land Ho!
Blue Ruin
It Felt Like Love
Man From Reno
Test
Best Male Lead
Michael Keaton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
André 3000 – Jimi: All Is by My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
John Lithgow – Love Is Strange
David Oyelowo – Selma
Best Female Lead
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Marion Cotillard – The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi – Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton – Only Lovers Left Alive
Best Supporting Male
J. K. Simmons – Whiplash
Riz Ahmed – Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Alfred Molina – Love Is Strange
Edward Norton – Birdman
Best Supporting Female
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo – Selma
Emma Stone – Birdman
Andrea Suarez Paz – Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Best Director
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Ava DuVernay – Selma
Alejandro González Iñárritu – Birdman
David Zellner – Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
Best Screenplay
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski – Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor – A Most Violent Year
Jim Jarmusch – Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias – Love Is Strange
Best First Screenplay
Justin Simien – Dear White People
Desiree Akhavan – Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo – Little Accidents
Justin Lader – The One I Love
Anja Marquardt – She’s Lost Control
Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki – Birdman
Darius Khondji – The Immigrant
Sean Porter – It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young – Selma
Best Editing
Tom Cross – Whiplash
Sandra Adair – Boyhood
John Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Ron Patane – A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard – The Guest
Best International Film
Ida (Poland) – Paweł Pawlikowski
Force Majeure (Sweden) – Ruben Östlund
Leviathan (Russia) – Andrey Zvyagintsev
Mommy (Canada) – Xavier Dolan
Norte, the End of History (Philippines) – Lav Diaz
Under the Skin (United Kingdom) – Jonathan Glazer
Best Documentary
Citizenfour – Laura Poitras
20,000 Days on Earth – Ian Forsyth and Jane Pollard
Stray Dog – Debra Granik
The Salt of the Earth – Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders
Virunga – Orlando von Einsiedel
Robert Altman Award
(The award is given to its film director, casting director, and ensemble cast)
Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson
Special Distinction Award
Foxcatcher – Bennett Miller, Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik, E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum