31st Independent Spirit Awards

{{Infobox film awards

| number = 31

| award = Independent Spirit Awards

| awarded_for = Best in independent film

| date = February 27, 2016

| site = Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, California, U.S.

| host = Kate McKinnon
Kumail Nanjiani

| free_award_type = Best Feature

| free_award = Spotlight

| most_wins = Spotlight (5)

| most_nominations = Carol (6)

| channel = IFC

| last = 30th

| next = 32nd

}}

The 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films of 2015, were presented by Film Independent on February 27, 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/full-list-of-all-2016-film-independent-spirit-award-winners-63860/ |title=Full List of All 2016 Film Independent Spirit Award Winners |last=Erbland |first=Kate |date=February 27, 2016 |publisher=IndieWire |access-date=April 3, 2018}} The nominations were announced on November 24, 2015.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/spirit-awards-nominees-2016-carol-1201647728/ |title='Carol', 'Spotlight', 'Beasts of No Nation' Lead Spirit Awards Nominations |last=McNary |first=Dave |author-link=Dave McNary |date=November 24, 2015 |work=Variety |access-date=November 25, 2015}} The ceremony was hosted by Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani, and broadcast live on IFC.{{cite web |url=https://ew.com/article/2016/01/07/kate-mckinnon-kumail-nanjiani-spirit-awards/ |title=Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani to host Independent Spirit Awards |last=Terrero |first=Nina |date=January 7, 2016 |work=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=February 3, 2016}}

Winners and nominees

File:Tom McCarthy (cropped).jpg, Best Director winner and Best Screenplay co-winner]]

File:Abraham Attah (cropped).jpg, Best Male Lead winner]]

File:Brie Larson by Gage Skidmore.jpg, Best Female Lead winner]]

File:Idris Elba 2014.jpg, Best Supporting Male winner]]

File:Josh Singer in 2018.jpg, Best Screenplay co-winner]]

File:Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue.JPG, Best First Screenplay winner]]

class=wikitable style="width=100%"
style="width=50%"\| Best Feature ! style="width=50%"\| Best Director
valign="top" \| *Spotlight* Anomalisa Beasts of No Nation Carol Tangerine \| valign="top" \| Tom McCarthy – Spotlight Sean Baker – Tangerine Cary Joji Fukunaga – Beasts of No Nation Todd Haynes – Carol Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson – Anomalisa David Robert Mitchell – It Follows
style="width=50%"\| Best Male Lead ! style="width=50%"\| Best Female Lead
valign="top" \| *Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation* as Agu** Christopher Abbott – James White as James White Ben Mendelsohn – Mississippi Grind as Gerry Jason Segel – The End of the Tour as David Foster Wallace Koudous Seihon – Mediterranea as Ayiva \| valign="top" \| *Brie Larson – Room* as Joy "Ma" Newsome** Cate Blanchett – Carol as Carol Aird Rooney Mara – Carol as Therese Belivet Bel Powley – The Diary of a Teenage Girl as Minnie Goetze Kitana Kiki Rodriguez – Tangerine as Sin-Dee Rella
style="width=50%"\| Best Supporting Male ! style="width=50%"\| Best Supporting Female
valign="top" \| *Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation* as Commandant** Kevin Corrigan – Results as Danny Paul Dano – Love & Mercy as Brian - Past Richard Jenkins – Bone Tomahawk as Deputy Chicory Michael Shannon – 99 Homes as Rick Carver \| valign="top" \| *Mya Taylor – Tangerine* as Alexandra** Robin Bartlett – H. as Helen Marin Ireland – Glass Chin as Ellen Doyle Jennifer Jason Leigh – Anomalisa as Lisa Hesselman Cynthia Nixon – James White as Gail White
style="width=50%"\| Best Screenplay ! style="width=50%"\| Best First Screenplay
valign="top" \| Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer – Spotlight Charlie Kaufman – Anomalisa Donald Margulies – The End of the Tour Phyllis Nagy – Carol S. Craig Zahler – Bone Tomahawk \| valign="top" \| Emma Donoghue – Room Jesse Andrews – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Jonas Carpignano – Mediterranea Marielle Heller – The Diary of a Teenage Girl John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, and Myna Joseph – The Mend
style="width=50%"\| Best First Feature ! style="width=50%"\| Best Documentary Feature
valign="top" \| *The Diary of a Teenage Girl* James White Manos sucias Mediterranea Songs My Brothers Taught Me \| valign="top" \| *The Look of Silence* Best of Enemies Heart of a Dog Meru The Russian Woodpecker (T)error
style="width=50%"\| Best Cinematography ! style="width=50%"\| Best Editing
valign="top" \| Edward Lachman – Carol Cary Joji Fukunaga – Beasts of No Nation Mike Gioulakis – It Follows Reed Morano – Meadowland Joshua James Richards – Songs My Brothers Taught Me \| valign="top" \| Tom McArdle – Spotlight Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie – Heaven Knows What Nathan Nugent – Room Julio C. Perez IV – It Follows Kristan Sprague – Manos sucias
colspan="2" style="width=50%"\| Best International Film
colspan="2" valign="top" \| Son of Saul (Saul fia) (Hungary) Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente) (Colombia) Girlhood (Bande de filles) (France) Mustang (France / Germany / Turkey) A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) (Sweden)

class=wikitable style="width=100%"

style="width=50%"| Best Feature

! style="width=50%"| Best Director

valign="top" |

Spotlight

| valign="top" |

Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

Sean Baker – Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga – Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes – Carol
Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson – Anomalisa
David Robert Mitchell – It Follows

style="width=50%"| Best Male Lead

! style="width=50%"| Best Female Lead

valign="top" |

Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation as Agu

Christopher Abbott – James White as James White
Ben Mendelsohn – Mississippi Grind as Gerry
Jason Segel – The End of the Tour as David Foster Wallace
Koudous Seihon – Mediterranea as Ayiva

| valign="top" |

Brie Larson – Room as Joy "Ma" Newsome

Cate Blanchett – Carol as Carol Aird
Rooney Mara – Carol as Therese Belivet
Bel Powley – The Diary of a Teenage Girl as Minnie Goetze
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez – Tangerine as Sin-Dee Rella

style="width=50%"| Best Supporting Male

! style="width=50%"| Best Supporting Female

valign="top" |

Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation as Commandant

Kevin Corrigan – Results as Danny
Paul Dano – Love & Mercy as Brian - Past
Richard Jenkins – Bone Tomahawk as Deputy Chicory
Michael Shannon – 99 Homes as Rick Carver

| valign="top" |

Mya Taylor – Tangerine as Alexandra

Robin Bartlett – H. as Helen
Marin Ireland – Glass Chin as Ellen Doyle
Jennifer Jason Leigh – Anomalisa as Lisa Hesselman
Cynthia Nixon – James White as Gail White

style="width=50%"| Best Screenplay

! style="width=50%"| Best First Screenplay

valign="top" |

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer – Spotlight

Charlie Kaufman – Anomalisa
Donald Margulies – The End of the Tour
Phyllis Nagy – Carol
S. Craig Zahler – Bone Tomahawk

| valign="top" |

Emma Donoghue – Room

Jesse Andrews – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jonas Carpignano – Mediterranea
Marielle Heller – The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, and Myna Joseph – The Mend

style="width=50%"| Best First Feature

! style="width=50%"| Best Documentary Feature

valign="top" |

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

| valign="top" |

The Look of Silence

style="width=50%"| Best Cinematography

! style="width=50%"| Best Editing

valign="top" |

Edward Lachman – Carol

Cary Joji Fukunaga – Beasts of No Nation
Mike Gioulakis – It Follows
Reed Morano – Meadowland
Joshua James Richards – Songs My Brothers Taught Me

| valign="top" |

Tom McArdle – Spotlight

Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie – Heaven Knows What
Nathan Nugent – Room
Julio C. Perez IV – It Follows
Kristan Sprague – Manos sucias

colspan="2" style="width=50%"| Best International Film

colspan="2" valign="top" |

Son of Saul (Saul fia) (Hungary)

Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente) (Colombia)
Girlhood (Bande de filles) (France)
Mustang (France / Germany / Turkey)
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) (Sweden)

=Films with multiple nominations and awards=

scope="col" width="50"\| Nominations ! scope="col" width="250"\| Film
class="wikitable" rowspan=2 border=2 style="text-align:center;" \|+ Films that received multiple nominations
6 \| Carol
rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;"\| 5 \| Beasts of No Nation
Tangerine
rowspan=3 style="text-align:center;"\| 4 \| Anomalisa
It Follows
Spotlight
rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"\| 3 \| The Diary of a Teenage Girl
James White
Mediterranea
Room
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
rowspan=4 style="text-align:center;"\| 2 \| Bone Tomahawk
The End of the Tour
Heaven Knows What
Manos sucias

class="wikitable" rowspan=2 border=2 style="text-align:center;" \|+ Films that won multiple awards
scope="col" width="50"\| Awards ! scope="col" width="250"\| Film
5 \| Spotlight
rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;"\| 2 \| Beasts of No Nation
Room

class="wikitable" rowspan=2 border=2 style="text-align:center;"

|+ Films that won multiple awards

scope="col" width="50"| Awards

! scope="col" width="250"| Film

| Spotlight

rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;"| 2

| Beasts of No Nation

Room

Special awards

=[[Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award|John Cassavetes Award]]=

Krisha

=[[Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award|Robert Altman Award]]=

(The award is given to its film director, casting director, and ensemble cast)

Spotlight – Tom McCarthy, Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee, Michael Cyril Creighton, Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian d'Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci

=Kiehl's Someone to Watch Award=

Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl's since 1851.

Felix Thompson – King Jack
Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck – God Bless the Child
Chloé Zhao – Songs My Brothers Taught Me

=Piaget Producers Award=

Honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Mel Eslyn – Lamb
Darren Dean – Tangerine
Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith – It Follows and I'll See You in My Dreams

=Truer than Fiction Award=

Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi – Incorruptible
Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti – A Woman Like Me
Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi – Among the Believers

References

External links

{{Official website|https://www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/}}

2015

Independent Spirit Awards