20th Independent Spirit Awards Coverage

The 20th Annual Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced on November 20th, 2004. The awards were handed out at a ceremony in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 26th, 2005.

And the nominees and winners are:

BEST FEATURE

• Baadasssss!
  Producer: Mario Van Peebles
• Kinsey
  Producer: Gail Mutrux
• Maria Full of Grace
  Producer: Paul Mezey
• Primer
  Producer: Shane Carruth
• Sideways
  Producer: Michael London

BEST FIRST FEATURE

• Brother to Brother
  Director: Rodney Evans
  Producers: Rodney Evans, Jim McKay, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof
• Garden State
  Director: Zach Braff
  Producers: Pamela Abdy, Gary Gilbert, Dan Halsted, Richard Klubeck
• Napoleon Dynamite
  Director: Jared Hess
  Producers: Jeremy Coon, Sean C. Covel, Chris Wyatt
• Saints and Soldiers
  Director: Ryan Little
  Producers: Adam Abel, Ryan Little
• The Woodsman
  Director: Nicole Kassell
  Producer: Lee Daniels

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

• Down to the Bone
  Director: Debra Granik Writers: Debra Granik, Richard Lieske
  Producers: Susan Leber, Anne Rosellini
• Mean Creek
  Writer/Director: Jacob Aaron Estes
  Producers: Susan Johnson, Rick Rosenthal, Hagai Shaham
• On the Outs
  Directors: Lori Silverbush, Michael Skolnik Writer: Lori Silverbush
  Producers: Lori Silverbush, Michael Skolnik
• Robbing Peter
  Writer/Director: Mario F. de la Vega
  Producers: T. Todd Flinchum, Lisa Y. Garibay, Mario F. de la Vega
• Unknown Soldier
  Writer/Director: Ferenc Toth
  Producers: Sean Bachrodt, Seth Eisman, Chachi Senior, Ferenc Toth

BEST DIRECTOR

• Shane Carruth, Primer
• Joshua Marston, Maria Full of Grace
• Alexander Payne, Sideways
• Walter Salles, The Motorcycle Diaries
• Mario Van Peebles, Baadasssss!

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Mario Van Peebles & Dennis Haggerty, Baadasssss!
• Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, Before Sunset
• Tod Williams, The Door in the Floor
• Bill Condon, Kinsey
• Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor, Sideways

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

• Rodney Evans, Brother to Brother
• Zach Braff, Garden State
• Joshua Marston, Maria Full of Grace
• Shane Carruth, Primer
• Mario F. De La Vega, Robbing Peter

BEST FEMALE LEAD

• Kimberly Elise, Woman Thou Art Loosed
• Vera Farmiga, Down to the Bone
• Judy Marte, On the Outs
• Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace
• Kyra Sedgwick, Cavedweller

BEST MALE LEAD

• Kevin Bacon, The Woodsman
• Jeff Bridges, The Door in the Floor
• Jamie Foxx, Redemption
• Paul Giamatti, Sideways
• Liam Neeson, Kinsey

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

• Cate Blanchett, Coffee and Cigarettes
• Loretta Devine, Woman Thou Art Loosed
• Virginia Madsen, Sideways
• Robin Simmons, Robbing Peter
• Yenny Paola Vega, Maria Full of Grace

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

• Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
• Jon Gries, Napoleon Dynamite
• Aidan Quinn, Cavedweller
• Roger Robinson, Brother to Brother
• Peter Sarsgaard, Kinsey

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE

• Anthony Mackie, Brother to Brother
• Louie Olivos, Jr., Robbing Peter
• Hannah Pilkes, The Woodsman
• Rodrigo de la Serna, The Motorcycle Diaries
• David Sullivan, Primer

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Tim Orr, Dandelion
• Eric Gautier, The Motorcycle Diaries
• David Greene, Redemption
• Ryan Little, Saints and Soldiers
• Maryse Alberti, We Don't Live Here Anymore

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• Bright Leaves
  Director: Ross McElwee
• Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed
  Director: Shola Lynch
• Hiding and Seeking: Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust
  Directors: Menachem Daum, Oren Rudavsky
• Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
  Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
• Tarnation
  Director: Jonathan Caouette

BEST FOREIGN FILM

• Bad Education
  (Spain)Director: Pedro Almodóvar
• Oasis
  (South Korea)Director: Lee Chang-Dong
• Red Lights
  (France)Director: Cédric Kahn
• The Sea Inside
  (Spain)Director: Alejandro Amenábar
• Yesterday
  (South Africa)Director: Darrell James Roodt

SPECIAL DISTINCTION

• Ensemble Cast: Mean Creek
  
  • Rory Culkin
  • Ryan Kelley
  • Scott Mechlowicz
  • Trevor Morgan
  • Josh Peck
  • Carly Schroeder

TURNING LEAF SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

• Jem Cohen, director of Chain
• Bryan Poyser, director of Dear Pillow
• Jennifer Reeves, director of The Time We Killed

DIRECTV/IFC TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

• Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman for Born Into Brothels
• Shola Lynch for Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed
• Jehane Noujaim for Control Room
• Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini for Farmingville

BRAVO/AMERICAN EXPRESS PRODUCERS AWARD

• Gina Kwon, producer of The Good Girl and Me and You and Everyone We Know
• Danielle Renfrew, producer of November and Groove
• Sean C. Covel and Chris Wyatt, producers of Napoleon Dynamite and Think Tank