Independent Spirit Awards 1997
The twelfth presentation of the Independent Spirit Awards took place on March 22, 1997.
Summary
It was the year of Fargo (six awards) and the year of film actors as directors and scriptwriters: Stanley Tucci won as a screenwriting debutant for Big Night against Steve Buscemi for Trees Lounge - The bar where everything turns . Billy Bob Thornton won the award for best debut film for Sling Blade - On a Razor's Edge against Tucci and Buscemi. Al Pacino was nominated for Looking for Richard in the documentary film competition "Truer Than Fiction". Two other actors had reason to be happy: William H. Macy won an award on his third nomination, Benicio del Toro won for the second time in a row. The big loser of the evening was John Sayles : his film Lone Star was nominated for four awards and won only one. Sayles himself went empty. One of America's most renowned independent directors has not yet won an Independent Spirit Award. Another loser was Robby Müller , cameraman for Jim Jarmusch's four-time nominee Dead Man , who couldn't win on the fourth attempt either. Mike Leigh, on the other hand, won the award with his fourth nomination - the best foreign film, against top-class competition: Gianni Amelio , Danny Boyle , Wong Kar-Wai and Lars von Trier .
Winners and nominees
Best movie
- The Funeral (The Funeral) - Mary Kane
- Dead Man - Demetra J. MacBride
- Lone Star - R. Paul Miller , Maggie Renzi
- Welcome to the Dollhouse (Welcome to the Dollhouse) - Todd Solondz
Best debut film
Sling Blade - The Razor's Edge (Sling Blade) - Billy Bob Thornton , David L. Bushell , Brandon Rosser
- Big Night - Campbell Scott , Stanley Tucci , Jonathan Filley
- I Shot Andy Warhol - Mary Harron , Tom Kalin , Christine Vachon
- Manny & Lo - Lisa Krueger , Marlen Hecht , Dean Silvers
- Trees Lounge - The bar where everything turns (Trees Lounge) - Steve Buscemi , Chris Hanley , Brad Wyman
Best Actor
- Chris Cooper - Lone Star
- Chris Penn - The Funeral (The Funeral)
- Tony Shalhoub - Big Night
- Stanley Tucci - Big Night
Best main actress
- María Conchita Alonso - Caught - In the web of passion (Caught)
- Scarlett Johansson - Manny & Lo
- Catherine Keener - Walking and Talking
- Renée Zellweger - All the love in this world (The Whole Wide World)
Best supporting actor
- Kevin Corrigan - Walking and Talking
- Matthew Faber - Welcome to the Dollhouse (Welcome to the Dollhouse)
- Gary Farmer - Dead Man
- Richard Jenkins - Flirting with Disaster - A disaster of Hazzard (Flirting with Disaster)
The best supporting actress
- Queen Latifah - Set It Off
- Mary Kay Place - Manny & Lo
- Lili Taylor - Girls Town
- Lily Tomlin - Flirting with Disaster - A disaster of Hazzard (Flirting with Disaster)
Best screen debut
Heather Matarazzo - Welcome to the Dollhouse (Welcome to the Dollhouse)
- Jena Malone - Defenseless - Shadows over Carolina (Bastard Out of Carolina)
- Brendan Sexton III - Welcome to the Dollhouse (Welcome to the Dollhouse)
- Arie Verveen - Caught - In the Network of passion (Caught)
- Jeffrey Wright - Basquiat
Best director
- Abel Ferrara - The Funeral (The Funeral)
- David O. Russell - Flirting with Disaster - A disaster of Hazzard (Flirting with Disaster)
- Todd Solondz - Welcome to the Dollhouse (Welcome to the Dollhouse)
- Robert M. Young - Caught - In the Network of passion (Caught)
Best script
Joel Coen , Ethan Coen - Fargo
- Jim Jarmusch - Dead Man
- David O. Russell - Flirting with Disaster - A disaster of Hazzard (Flirting with Disaster)
- John Sayles - Lone Star
- Nicholas St. John - The Funeral (The Funeral)
Best screenplay debut
Joseph Tropiano , Stanley Tucci - Big Night
- Steve Buscemi - Trees Lounge - The bar where everything turns (Trees Lounge)
- Lisa Krueger - Manny & Lo
- Michael Scott Myers - The Whole Wide World
- Suzan-Lori Parks - Girl 6
Best camera
- Ken Kelsch - The Funeral (The Funeral)
- Robby Müller - Dead Man
- Bill Pope - Bound
- Rob Sweeney - Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day
Truer Than Fiction Award
Leon Gast - When We Were Kings - We were once kings
- Steven Ascher , Jeanne Jordan - Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern
- Joe Berlinger , Bruce Sinofsky - Paradise Lost - The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills)
- Rob Epstein , Jeffrey Friedman - Trapped in the Dream Factory (The Celluloid Closet)
- Al Pacino - Looking for Richard
Best foreign film
Lies and Secrets (Secrets & Lies) - Mike Leigh
- Lamerica - Gianni Amelio
- Trainspotting - New Heroes (Trainspotting) - Danny Boyle
- Chungking Express (Chung Hing sam lam) - Wong Kar-Wai
- Breaking the Waves - Lars von Trier
Someone to Watch Award
Larry Fessenden - Habit
- Joe Brewster - The Keeper
- Chris Smith - American Job