30th Film Independent Spirit Awards: Birdman/Boyhood Split… Nightcrawler & Whiplash Double-Up

Richard Linklater won for Best Director and Patricia Arquette won the Best Supporting actress for team Boyhood, while Iñárritu’s Birdman claimed Best Picture, Best Actor (Michael Keaton) and Cinematographer (Emmanuel Lubezki) at the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards last night. The split might foreshadow how the Oscars play out tonite, as the Middleweight Saturday ceremony and Heavyweight Sunday gig are more or less interchangeable. The two films that might gain a little further traction from the tent spotlight include Nightcrawler (which picked up Best First Feature and Best Screenplay) and Whiplash, Damien Chazelle’s deservedly won for Best Supporting Actor and Editing categories. Also worth pointing out is a Land Ho! win in the category we love the most: the John Cassavetes Award. Here are the winners and noms.

Best Feature:

“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” *WINNER
“Boyhood”
“Love is Strange”
“Selma”
“Whiplash”

Best Director
Damien Chazelle,
“Whiplash”
Ava DuVernay, “Selma”
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater,
“Boyhood” *WINNER
David Zellner,
“Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter”

Best Screenplay
Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski,
 “Big Eyes”
J.C. Chandor, “A Most Violent Year”
Dan Gilroy, “Nightcrawler” *WINNER
Jim Jarmusch, “Only Lovers Left Alive”
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, “Love is Strange”

Best First Feature
“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”
“Dear White People”
“Nightcrawler” *WINNER
“Obvious Child”
“She’s Lost Control”

Best First Screenplay
Desiree Akhavan, “Appropriate Behavior”
Sara Colangelo, “Little Accidents”
Justin Lader, “The One I Love”
Anja Marquardt, “She’s Lost Control”
Justin Simien, “Dear White People” *WINNER

John Cassavetes Award
“Blue Ruin”
“It Felt Like Love”
“Land Ho!” *WINNER
“Man From Reno”
“Test”

Best Female Lead
Marion Cotillard, “The Immigrant”
Rinko Kikuchi, “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” *WINNER
Jenny Slate, “Obvious Child”
Tilda Swinton, “Only Lovers Left Alive”

Best Male Lead
André Benjamin, “Jimi: All Is By My Side”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman” *WINNER
John Lithgow, “Love is Strange”
David Oyelowo, “Selma”

Best Supporting Female
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” *WINNER
Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
Carmen Ejogo, “Selma”
Andrea Suarez Paz, “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”

Best Supporting Male
Riz Ahmed, “Nightcrawler”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Alfred Molina, “Love is Strange”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” *WINNER

Best Cinematography
Darius Khondji, “The Immigrant”
Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman” *WINNER
Sean Porter, “It Felt Like Love”
Lyle Vincent, “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”
Bradford Young, “Selma”

Best Editing
Sandra Adair, “Boyhood”
Tom Cross, “Whiplash” *WINNER
John Gilroy, “Nightcrawler”
Ron Patane, “A Most Violent Year”
Adam Wingard, “The Guest”

Best Documentary
“20,000 Days on Earth”
“Citizenfour” *WINNER
“Stray Dog”
“The Salt of the Earth”
“Virunga”

Best International Film
“Force Majeure”
“Ida” *WINNER
“Leviathan”
“Mommy”
“Norte, the End of History”
“Under the Skin”

Robert Altman Award
“Inherent Vice” *WINNER

Special Distinction Award
“Foxcatcher” *WINNER

Piaget Producers Award: Chris Ohlson
Lenscrafters Truer Than Fiction Award: Dan Krauss, director of “The Kill Team”
Kiehl’s Someone To Watch Award: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia, directors of “H”