The Independent Spirit Awards kicked off the night with prizes going out to James Franco and Penelope Cruz for their supporting roles in Milk and Vicky Cristina Barcelona respectively.
Click Here: Watch Spirit Awards Live & Uncut
The night ended with The Wrestler and Mickey Rourke taking took top honors for best film and lead actor. Melissa Leo, who some may have seen as the under dog, rounded out the night winning best female lead for her performance in Frozen River.
The complete list of nominations & winners:
Best Feature
Ballast
Frozen River
Rachel Getting Married
Wendy and Lucy
The Wrestler — WINNER!
Best Director
Ramin Bahrani, Chop Shop
Jonathan Demme, Rachel Getting Married
Lance Hammer, Ballast
Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Thomas McCarthy, The Visitor — WINNER!
Best First Feature
Afterschool
Medicine for Melancholy
Sangre de Mi Sangre
Sleep Dealer
Synecdoche, New York — WINNER!
John Cassavetes Award
In Search of a Midnight Kiss — WINNER!
Prince of Broadway
The Signal
Take Out
Turn the River
Best First Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, Milk — WINNER!
Lance Hammer, Ballast
Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Jonathan Levine, The Wackness
Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married
Best Screenplay
Woody Allen, Vicky Christina Barcelona — WINNER!
Anna Fleck and Ryan Boden, Sugar
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York
Howard A. Rodman, Savage Grace
Christopher Zalla, Sangre de Mi Sangre
Best Female Lead
Summer Bishil, Towelhead
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Melissa Leo, Frozen River — WINNER!
Tarra Riggs, Ballast
Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy
Best Male Lead
Javier Bardem, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Sean Penn, Milk
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler — WINNER!
Best Supporting Female
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona — WINNER!
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Rosie Perez, The Take
Misty Upham, Frozen River
Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married
Best Supporting Male
James Franco, Milk — WINNER!
Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Charlie McDermott, Frozen River
JimMyron Ross, Ballast
Haaz Sleiman, The Visitor
Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti, The Wrestler — WINNER!
Lol Crowley, Ballast
James Laxton, Medicine for Melancholy
Harris Savides, Milk
Michael Simmonds, Chop Shop
Best Documentary
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire — WINNER!
The Order of Myths
Up the Yangtze
Best Foreign Film
The Class (France) — WINNER!
Gomorrah (Italy)
Hunger (UK/Ireland)
Secret of the Grain (France)
Silent Light (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)
Robert Altman Award: (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Synecdoche, New York
Director: Charlie Kaufman Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams
Someone to Watch Award
Barry Jenkins, Medicine for Melancholy
Nina Paley, Sita Sings the Blues
Lynn Shelton, My Effortless Brilliance — WINNER!
Truer Than Fiction Award
Margaret Brown, The Order of Myths — The WINNER!
Sacha Gervasi, Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Darius Marder, Loot
Producers Award
Lars Knudsen and Joy Van Hoy, Tireless Mountain and I’ll Come Running
Jason Orans, Goodbye Solo and Year of the Fish
Heather Rae, Frozen River and Ibid — WINNER!
