Silver Linings Playbook Wins Big At This Year’s Independent Spirit Awards

While The Oscars may be handing over a handful of awards to Ben Affleck’s Argo, it’s time that a different film takes some time in the spotlight.

Oscar weekend also marks the weekend in which the Independent Spirit Awards are announced, and the big winner here is David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, taking home four awards including Best Picture. Russell won for his direction and screenplay, with Jennifer Lawrence taking home Best Actress, which may be an Oscar that is coming her way on Sunday as well.

Other notable winners include Derek Connolly’s fantastic screenplay for Safety Not Guaranteed which took home Best First Screenplay, and the extremely underrated Middle Of Nowhere which took home the John Cassavetes award.

While these rarely have any relation to The Academy Awards, it’s really nice to see the world of independent film get a chance to shine for a moment. Yes, I find it odd that a rather big film like Silver Linings is getting a ton of awards from a group that also nominates films like Starlet (as the latter is a massively superior film to the former), but silly rules about what is truly “independent” aside, these awards often signify films that will remembered more fondly than anything Oscar will honor.

Here’s the full list

BEST FEATURE

Beasts of the Southern Wild — Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey and Josh Penn

Bernie — Producers: Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams

Keep the Lights On — Producers: Marie Therese Guirgis, Lucas Joaquin, Ira Sachs

Moonrise Kingdom — Producers: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin

*WINNER: Silver Linings Playbook — Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

BEST DIRECTOR

Wes Anderson — Moonrise Kingdom 

*WINNER: David O. Russell — Silver Linings Playbook

Julia Loktev — The Loneliest Planet

Ira Sachs — Keep the Lights On

Benh Zeitlin — Beasts of the Southern Wild

PHOTOS: Indie Spirit Awards 2013: Stars Hit the Red Carpet

BEST SCREENPLAY

Wes Anderson — Moonrise Kingdom  

*WINNER: David O. Russell — Silver Linings Playbook

Ira Sachs — Keep the Lights On

Zoe Kazan — Ruby Sparks

Martin McDonagh — Seven Psychopaths

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Fill the Void — Director: Rama Burshtein; Producer: Assaf Amir

Gimme the Loot — Director: Adam Leon; Producers: Dominic Buchanan, Natalie Difford, Jamund Washington

Safety Not Guaranteed — Director: Colin Trevorrow; Producer: Derek Connolly, Stephanie Langhoff, Peter Saraf, Colin Trevorrow,MarcTurtletaub

Sound of My Voice — Director: Zal Batmanglij; Producers: Brit Marling, Hans Ritter, Shelley Surpin

*WINNER: The Perks of Being a Wallfower — Director: Stephen Chbosky; Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY 

*WINNER:  Derek Connolly — Safety Not Guaranteed

Rama Burshstein — Fill the Void

Christopher Ford — Robot & Frank

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack — Celeste and Jesse Forever

Jonathan Lisecki — Gayby

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

Breakfast with Curtis — Writer/Director/Producer: Laura Colella

*WINNER:  Middle of Nowhere — Writer/Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay; Producers: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes

Mosquita y Mari — Writer/Director:  Aurora Guerrero; Producer: Chad Burris

Starlet — Writer/Director: Sean Baker; Producers: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach,FrancescaSilvestri

The Color Wheel — Writer/Director/Producer: Alex Ross Perry; Writer: Carlen Altman Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Linda Cardinelli — Return

Emayatzy Corinealdi — Middle of Nowhere

*WINNER: Jennifer Lawrence — Silver Linings Playbook

Quvenzhane Wallis — Beasts of the Southern Wild

Mary Elizabeth Winstead — Smashed

BEST MALE LEAD

Jack Black — Bernie

Bradley Cooper — Silver Linings Playbook

*WINNER: John Hawkes — The Sessions

Matthew McConaughey — Killer Joe

Wendell Pierce — Four

Thure Lindhardt — Keep the Lights On

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE 

Rosemarie DeWitt — Your Sister’s Sister

Ann Dowd — Compliance  

*WINNER: Helen Hunt — The Sessions

Brit Marling — Sound of My Voice

Lorraine Toussant — Middle of Nowhere

BEST SUPPORTING MALE 

*WINNER: Matthew McConaughey — Magic Mike

David Oyelowo — Middle of Nowhere

Michael Pena — End of Watch

Sam Rockwell — Seven Psychopaths

Bruce Willis — Moonrise Kingdom

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 

Yoni Brook — Valley of Saints

Lol Crawley — Here  

*WINNER: Ben Richardson — Beasts of the Southern Wild

Roman Vasyanov — End of Watch

Robert Yeoman — Moonrise Kingdom

BEST DOCUMENTARY 

How to Survive a Plague — Director: David France; Producers: David France, Howard Gertler

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present — Director: Matthew Akers; Producers: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre

The Central Park Five — Directors/Producers: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon

*WINNER: The Invisible War — Director: Kirby Dick; Producers: Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering

The Waiting Room — Director/Producer: Peter Nicks; Producers: Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM 

*WINNER: Amour — Director: Michael Haneke

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia — Director:  Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Rust and Bone — Director: Jacques Audiard

Sister — Director: Ursula Meier

War Witch — Director: Kim Nguyen

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD 

Nobody Walks –– Producer: Alicia Van Couvering

Prince Avalanche — Producer: Derrick Tseng

*WINNER: Stones in the Sun — Producer: Mynette Louie

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD 

Pincus –– Director: David Fenster

 *WINNER: Gimme the Loot — Director: Adam Leon

Electrick Children — Director: Rebecca Thomas

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD  

Leviathan –– Directors: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel

 *WINNER:  The Waiting Room — Director: Peter Nicks

Only the Young — Directors: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD  

*WINNER:   Starlet — Director: Sean Baker; Casting Director: Julia Kim; Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

Source THR