23rd Independent Spirit Awards Coverage (2008)

The 23rd Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by Rainn Wilson, were presented on February 23rd, 2008. Here are the nominees and winners.

Best Feature:

• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• I'm Not There
• A Mighty Heart
• Paranoid Park
• Winner: Juno

Best Director:

• Todd Haynes - I'm Not There
• Tamara Jenkins - The Savages
• Jason Reitman - Juno
• Gus Van Sant - Paranoid Park
• Winner: Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Screenplay:

• Ron Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner - Starting Out in the Evening
• Adrienne Shelly - Waitress
• Mike White - Year of the Dog
• Winner: Tamara Jenkins - The Savages

Best First Feature:

• 2 Days in Paris
• Great World of Sound
• Rocket Science
• Vanaja
• Winner: The Lookout

Best First Screenplay:

• Jeffrey Blitz - Rocket Science
• Zoe Cassavetes - Broken English
• Kelly Masterson - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
• John Orloff - A Mighty Heart
• Winner: Diablo Cody - Juno

John Cassavetes Award: (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)

• Owl and the Sparrow
• The Pool
• Quiet City
• Shotgun Stories
• Winner: August Evening

Best Supporting Female:

• Anna Kendrick - Rocket Science
• Jennifer Jason Leigh - Margot at the Wedding
• Tamara Podemski- Four Sheets to the Wind
• Marisa Tomei - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
• Winner: Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There

Best Supporting Male:

• Marcus Carl Franklin - I'm Not There
• Kene Holliday - Great World of Sound
• Irrfan Khan - The Namesake
• Steve Zahn - Rescue Dawn
• Winner: Chiwetel Ejiofor - Talk To Me

Best Female Lead:

• Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart
• Sienna Miller - Interview
• Parker Posey - Broken English
• Tang Wei - Lust, Caution
• Winner: Ellen Page - Juno

Best Male Lead:

• Pedro Castaneda - August Evening
• Don Cheadle - Talk To Me
• Frank Langella - Starting Out in the Evening
• Tony Leung - Lust, Caution
• Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Savages

Best Cinematography:

• Mott Hupfel - The Savages
• Milton Kam - Vanaja
• Mihai Malaimare, Jr - Youth Without Youth
• Rodrigo Prieto - Lust, Caution
• Winner: Janusz Kaminski - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Foreign Film:

• 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
• The Band's Visit
• Lady Chatterley
• Persepolis
• Winner: Once

Best Documentary:

• Lake of Fire
• Manufactured Landscapes
• The Monastery
• The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
• Winner: Crazy Love

IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award: (recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition)

• Ronnie Bronstein, director of Frownland
• Lee Isaac Chung, director of Munyurangabo
• Winner: Ramin Bahrani, director of Chop Shop

Truer Than Fiction Award: (presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention)

• Gary Hustwit for Helvetica
• John Maringouin for Running Stumbled
• Winner: Laura Dunn for The Unforeseen

Producers Award: (honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films)

• Anne Clements, producer of Ping Pong Playa and Quinceañera
• Alexis Ferris, producer of Cthulhu and Police Beat
• Winner: Neil Kopp, producer of Paranoid Park and Old Joy

Robert Altman Award: (Given to one film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast)

• I'm Not There - Director: Todd Haynes, Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal Ensemble Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood