31st Independent Spirit Awards Coverage (2016)

The nominations for the 31st Independent Spirit Awards, which took place on February 27th, 2016, were announced on November 24th, 2015.

Here is a look at the nominees and winners:

Best Feature

  • Anomalisa
  • Beasts of No Nation
  • Carol
  • Spotlight
  • Tangerine

Best Female Lead

  • Bel Powley, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
  • Brie Larson, Room
  • Cate Blanchett, Carol
  • Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine
  • Rooney Mara, Carol

Best Male Lead

  • Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
  • Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind
  • Christopher Abbott, James White
  • Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
  • Koudous Seihon, Mediterranea

Best Supporting Female

  • Cynthia Nixon, James White
  • Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa
  • Marin Ireland, Glass Chin
  • Mya Taylor, Tangerine
  • Robin Bartlett, H.

Best Supporting Male

  • Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
  • Kevin Corrigan, Results
  • Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
  • Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
  • Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk

Best Director

  • Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
  • Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, Anomalisa
  • David Robert Mitchell, It Follows
  • Sean Baker, Tangerine
  • Todd Haynes, Carol
  • Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

Best Screenplay

  • Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa
  • Donald Marguiles, The End of the Tour
  • Phyllis Nagy, Carol
  • S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk
  • Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight

Best Documentary

  • (T)ERROR
  • Best of Enemies
  • Heart of a Dog
  • Meru
  • The Look of Silence
  • The Russian Woodpecker

Best International Film

  • A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
  • Embrace of the Serpent
  • Girlhood
  • Mustang
  • Son of Saul

Best Cinematography

  • Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
  • Ed Lachman, Carol
  • Joshua James Richards, Songs My Brothers Taught Me
  • Michael Gioulakis, It Follows
  • Reed Morano, Meadowland

Best Editing

  • Julio C. Perez IV, It Follows
  • Kristan Sprague, Manos Sucias
  • Nathan Nugent, Room
  • Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie, Heaven Knows What
  • Tom McArdle, Spotlight

Best First Feature (awarded to director and producers)

  • James White
    Director: Josh Mond
    Producers: Max Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, Eric Schultz
  • Manos Sucias
    Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka
    Producers: Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes
  • Mediterranea
    Director: Jonas Carpignano
    Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, Ryan Zacarias
  • Songs My Brothers Taught Me
    Director: Chloé Zhao
    Producers: Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, Forest Whitaker
  • The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Director: Marielle Heller
    Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit

Best First Screenplay

  • Emma Donoghue, Room
  • Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
  • John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, and Myna Joseph, The Mend
  • Jonas Carpignano, Mediterranea
  • Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl

John Cassavetes Award (given to the writer, director and producer(s) of a feature made for under $500,000)

  • Advantageous
    Writer/director/producer: Jennifer Phang
    Writer/producer: Jacqueline Kim
    Producers: Robert Chang, Ken Jeong, Moon Molson, Theresa Navarro
  • Christmas, Again
    Writer/director/producer: Charles Poekel
  • Heaven Knows What
    Directors: Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie
    Writers: Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein
    Producers: Oscar Boyson, Sebastian Bear McClard
  • Krisha
    Writer/director/producer: Trey Edward Shults
    Producers: Justin R. Chan, Chase Joliet, Wilson Smith
  • Out of My Hand
    Writer/director: Takeshi Fukunaga
    Writer/producer: Donari Braxton
    Producer: Mike Fox

Robert Altman Award (given to the film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)

  • Spotlight
    Director: Tom McCarthy
    Casting director: Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee
    Ensemble cast: Billy Crudup, Brian d'Arcy James, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Sheridan, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci