Awards Season: Swan Wins Its Independence

February 26, 2011

Independent Spirit Award hand out their nominations earlier than the other major awards, but don't hand out the hardware till the day before the Oscars. The long wait ended last night and Black Swan became the big winner sweeping the four categories it was nominated it. It wasn't the only winner of the night, however.

The categories and winners are...

BEST FEATURE

• Black Swan

BEST DIRECTOR

• Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Stuart Blumberg & Lisa Cholodenko for The Kids Are All Right

BEST FIRST FEATURE

• Get Low

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

• Lena Dunham for Tiny Furniture

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)

• Go Get Some Rosemary, a.k.a. Daddy Longlegs

BEST FEMALE LEAD

• Natalie Portman for Black Swan

BEST MALE LEAD

• James Franco for 127 Hours

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

• John Hawkes for Winter’s Bone

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

• Dale Dickey for Winter’s Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• Exit Through the Gift Shop

BEST FOREIGN FILM

• The King’s Speech (United Kingdom)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Black Swan

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)

• Please Give

Also announced were the nominees for the three Filmmaker Grant Awards.

Acura Someone to Watch Award

• Mike Ott for Littlerock

Lacoste Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention.

• Marwencol

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

• Anish Savjani for Meek’s Cutoff

Notes and Reactions...

• Black Swan went four for four becoming the big winner of the night, although that probably won't translate into big success at the Oscars, as the Independent Spirit Awards are the least predictive of any of the major awards. (There are strict budget limitations.)
• On the other hand, Winter's Bone went two for seven while The Kids Are All Right only won one of five.
• The King’s Speech win for Best Foreign Film is arguably the least surprising result of the night, as it is the overwhelming favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Awards Season, Please Give, Get Low, The Kids Are All Right, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Winter’s Bone, Daddy Long Legs, Black Swan, 127 Hours, Meek's Cutoff, Tiny Furniture, The King’s Speech, Marwencol