Just two days before the movie industry's biggest night, actors and independent filmmakers celebrated the best of independent films with this year's '
Precious' sweeping up five accolades at the 25th anniversary of the
Film Independent's Spirit Awards - easily the most fun night of the awards circuit.
'Precious', the Oscar-nominated film about an obese, illiterate, abused teenager in Harlem won four top honors, including best picture, best director, best actress and best supporting actor. Both Fabourey Sidibe, who played Precious, and Mo'Nique, who played the girl's abusive mother, took the best actress and supporting actress awards.
Director Lee Daniels - who is also up for Best Director at the 82nd Academy Awards - said in an emotional acceptance speech, "Last year I was a juror at these awards and I was editing 'Precious'," Daniels told the audience. "It's a good thing, a really good thing."
Jeff Bridges, who took home the best actor prize for his performance as an alcoholic country singer in '
Crazy Heart', said "Crazy Heart is so dear to me, it's really a gem of an independent film...What makes these gems shine is passion."While much of the media's attention is focused around the upcoming Oscars, the spirit awards, to many are the awards ceremony not to be missed.
As the first event to honor independent film exclusively, the awards show has made a name for itself as the leading event for the independent film scene. Historically, independent films are not represented in balanced numbers throughout the Oscars ceremonies, but this year, more than half of the films nominated are independent films.
Woody Harrelson, who took home the best supporting actor award for his portrayal of a US army officer whose job is to inform the next of kin of their loved one having died in action in "
The Messenger", had kind words for the other nominees, who included fellow Oscar contender Canadian Christopher Plummer for the Leo Tolstoy drama '
The Last Station'.
"You're all better," Harrelson said while accepting his award. "Actually, I don't know how you distinguish one performance from another. It's never felt right to me to declare a winner. We're all just actors and lucky to be doing this. Of course, now it feels a little more right."
In the Best Foreign Film category, Lone Scherfig's British film, '
An Education', which screened at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival last year, topped Bong Joon-Ho's 'Mother' and Jacques Audiard's '
A Prophet' to take home the award.Joel and Ethan Coen's 'A Serious Man,' following the troubles of a Jewish professor whose life is unravelling, won the Robert Altman Award presented for a movie in the spirit of the ensemble films of the late director.
'
A Serious Man' also earned the cinematography award for Roger Deakins.
Other Winners:
Screenplay: Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber.
Documentary: "Anvil! The Story of Anvil," directed by Sacha Gervasi.
John Cassavetes Award for a film made for less than $500,000: "Humpday," directed by Lynn Shelton.
The Spirit Awards are normally handed out at an afternoon ceremony along the beach in Santa Monica in California the day before the Oscars. But with the event marking its 25th year, organizers changed the venue to a rooftop party in downtown Los Angeles.