Precious Sweeps The 25th Independent Spirit Awards

The Independent Spirit Awards might not be as popular as other awards ceremonies such as the Golden Globes and the Oscars, but I'm a huge fan of nonetheless. One of the key elements of eligibility for the Spirit Awards is that nominated films don't have to have played in a theater; they just need to have been screened at either the Telluride, Toronto, Sundance, New York, New/Directors/New Films, or the Los Angeles Film Fesitval. Movies also cannot have been made for more than $20 million. Together, all of their criteria ensure that smaller movies will get recognized — potentially films that won't get any attention on Oscar night.

This year's awards were heartening, but held relatively few surprises. I was happy to see Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber win for their screenplay for 500 Days Of Summer, since I unabashedly enjoyed the hell out of that film. Woody Harrelson and Jeff Bridges also picked up much-deserved acting awards (I haven't seen The Messenger yet but I've heard great things. Bridges was already virtually a lock for Best Actor at the Oscars and this just gives him more momentum).

But the big success story of the evening was Lee Daniels' Precious, which won for all five categories in which it was nominated: Best Feature, Best Director, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Female, and Best Supporting Screenplay. Hit the jump for a full list of all the award winners (winners in bold).

BEST FEATURE

Precious

Amreeka

500 Days of Summer

Sin Nombre

The Last Station

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Crazy Heart

A Single Man

Easier With Practice

Paranormal Activity

The Messenger

BEST DIRECTOR

Lee Daniels – Precious

Ethan Coen & Joel Coen – A Serious Man

Cary Fukunaga – Sin Nombre

James Gray – Two Lovers

Michael Hoffman – The Last Station

BEST MALE LEAD

Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart

Colin Firth – A Single Man

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 500 Days Of Summer

Souléymane Sy Savané – Goodbye Solo

Adam Scott – The Vicious Kind

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Gabourey Sidibe – Precious

Maria Bello – Downloading Nancy

Helen Mirren – The Last Station

Gwentyth Paltrow – Two Lovers

Nisreen Faour – Amreeka

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Woody Harrelson – The Messenger

Jemaine Clement – Gentleman Broncos

Christian McKay – Me and Orson Welles

Raymond McKinnon – That Evening Sun

Christopher Plummer – The Last Station

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Mo'Nique – Precious

Dina Korzun – Cold Souls

Samantha Morton – The Messenger

Natalie Press – Fifty Dead Men Walking

Mia Wasikowska – That Evening Sun

BEST SCREENPLAY

Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber – 500 Days Of Summer

Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman – The Messenger

Michael Hoffman – The Last Station

Lee Toland Krieger – The Vicious Kind

Greg Mottola – Adventureland

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Geoffrey Fletcher – Precious

Sophie Barthes – Cold Souls

Scott Cooper – Crazy Heart

Cherien Dabis – Amreeka

Tom Ford & David Scearce – A Single Man

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Roger Deakins – A Serious Man

Adriano Goldman – Sin Nombre

Anne Misawa – Treeless Mountain

Andrij Parekh – Cold Souls

Peter Zeitlinger – Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Food, Inc.

More Than a Game

October Country

Which Way Home

BEST FOREIGN FILM

An Education (UK/France)

A Prophet (France)

Everlasting Moments (Sweden)

Mother (South Korea)

The Maid (Chile)

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

(Best feature made for less than $500,000)

Humpday

Big Fan

The New Year Parade

Treeless Mountain

Zero Bridge

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

(Given to one film's director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)

"A Serious Man"

Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Casting Directors: Ellen Chenoweth, Rachel Tenner

Cast: Richard Kind, Sari Lennick, Jessica McManus, Michael Stuhlbarg, Aaron Wolff

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD

Karen Chien (The Exploding Girl & Santa Mesa)

Larry Fessenden (I Sell the Dead, The House of the Devil)

Dia Sokol (Beeswax, Nights and Weekends)

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

Tariq Tapa (Zero Bridge)

Kyle Patrick Alvarez (Easier with Practice)

Asiel Norton (Redland)

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

Bill Ross & Turner Ross ("45365")

Natalia Almada (El General)

Jessica Oreck (Beetle Queen Conquer Tokyo)