As per usual, well before the actual film awards show takes place (February 25th) – three lucky people in three categories are offered cash prizes rather trophyware by the Film Independent Spirit Awards folks – its that little extra nudge to push the future of cinema into the right direction. The The Producers Award, Someone To Watch Award and Truer Than Fiction Awards were handed out this past weekend and two indie folks we’ve been tracking (both happen to be at the U.S in Progress in Wroclaw last October) were given some cold hard cash. Sarah Friedland who premiered Familiar Touch at Venice (winning a trio of major awards) grabbed the Someone to Watch Award (her debut will be in contention at the ceremony in 2026), while Smudge Films producer Sarah Winshall who returns to Sundance this year after preeming I Saw the TV Glow and Good One at the fest in 2024 lands the prize for emerging producers – it’s a a $25,000 cash grant. Here are the three categories:
PRODUCERS AWARD
Alex Coco
Sarah Winshall ** WINNER
Zoë Worth
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Nicholas Colia – Director of “Griffin in Summer”
Sarah Friedland ** WINNER – Director of “Familiar Touch”
Pham Thien An – Director of “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell”
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie – Directors of “Sugarcane”
Carla Gutiérrez – Director of “Frida”
Rachel Elizabeth Seed ** WINNER – Director of “A Photographic Memory”
