‘Adolescence’ and ‘Train Dreams’ Win Top Prizes at Film Independent Spirit Awards

Clint Bentley’s lyrical Denis Johnson adaptation “Train Dreams” won the best film award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards held in Los Angeles on Sunday, while “Adolescence” topped the television categories. Both were released on Netflix.

Bentley also won best director for the film starring Joel Edgerton, for whom he thanked profusely for being “the heartbeat of our movie.”

“We are so grateful to Netflix,” Bentley said. “It’s very, very difficult to shoot in the United States these days, but it’s worth it and we’re proud that we were able to do it.”

However, Edgerton’s biggest acting award went to Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.” The organization moved to gender-neutral acting categories in 2022.

Byrne was one of the few actors to be nominated for both a Spirit Award and an Oscar for her role as a mother on the frontier.

“I share this with my writer-director, Mary Bronstein, who struggled for eight years to make this film,” Byrne said.

He added that this was a film that could only be made independently. She said her character was a “tough, vicious, middle-aged woman.”

“Adolescence,” a new scripted series, won best actor for Stephen Graham, best supporting actor for Erin Doherty and breakthrough awards for Owen Cooper.

The show, which serves as a fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programming, was held at the Hollywood Palladium for the first time since 1994 due to long-term renovations of the beachfront in Santa Monica. Comedian and “Saturday Night Live” veteran Ego Nwodim hosted a celebration of independent film and television livestreamed on YouTube.

“In the spirit of independent filmmaking, we do not have permission,” Nwodim said at the opening. “If I yell ‘cameras off’ you know what to do.”

“Secret Agent” won the international feature award. The film was also nominated for best picture and best international film at the Oscars.

“I truly believe that programming films in cinemas is increasingly a political act,” said director Kleber Mendonça Filho.

He dedicated his award to the late actor Udo Kier, who was part of the “Secret Agent” team.

“The Perfect Neighbor,” about a deadly shooting in Florida and created primarily from police body camera footage, won best documentary. Filmmaker and producer Geeta Gandbhir thanked Netflix for “giving us a global platform”. It is also nominated for the best documentary Oscar.

Eva Victor won the screenplay award for the movie “Sorry Baby”. Naomi Ackie also won the supporting award for Victor’s film over nominees including Zoey Deutch (“Nouvelle Vague”), Kirsten Dunst (“Roofman”), Nina Hoss (“Hedda”) and Archie Madekwe (“Lurker”).

Sometimes the awards overlap significantly with major Oscar nominees and winners, as for “Anora” and “Everything Everywhere All at the Same Time,” and sometimes they don’t. Organizers limit eligibility to productions with budgets under $30 million; This means that more expensive films like “One War Then Another” are not being released.