Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award
The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1,000,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after actor/screenwriter/director John Cassavetes, a pioneer of American independent film. The award is given to the directors, writers and producers of a film.
Created for the 15th Independent Spirit Awards, it was originally called the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature (Under $500,000). After that, the rules changed so that any feature film budgeted under $500,000 could be eligible (regardless of how many films the director has made), hence the new name. In 2023, the rules changed to include any feature film budgeted under $1,000,000.
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Created for the 15th Independent Spirit Awards, it was originally called the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature (Under $500,000). After that, the rules changed so that any feature film budgeted under $500,000 could be eligible (regardless of how many films the director has made), hence the new name. In 2023, the rules changed to include any feature film budgeted under $1,000,000.
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- DirectorsDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.1999
- DirectorMiguel ArtetaStarsMike WhiteChris WeitzLupe OntiverosAn oddly naive man-child stalks his childhood best friend and tries to reconnect with their past.2000
- DirectorMichael PolishStarsJon GriesDaryl HannahGarrett MorrisSunny Holiday, an aspiring singing star, abandons his wife and young baby to set off on a nine-month tour of bleak western towns. He takes off with his road manager in a pink Chrysler in search of their own version of the American Dream: a country loving audience.2001
- DirectorRebecca MillerStarsKyra SedgwickParker PoseyFairuza BalkThree women's escapes from their afflicted lives. Each struggles to flee from the men who confine their personal freedom.2002
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsPeter DinklagePatricia ClarksonBobby CannavaleWhen his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.2003
- DirectorJacob EstesStarsRory CulkinRyan KelleyScott MechlowiczWhen a teen is bullied, his brother and friends lure the bully into the woods to seek revenge.2004
- DirectorMora StephensStarsBasilAdrian BlueJennifer BrownAt the 2004 Republican Nation Convention, love blooms between a Republican delegate and a Democrat protesting the event.2005
- DirectorsRichard GlatzerWash WestmorelandStarsEmily RiosJesse GarciaChalo GonzálezAs Magdalena's 15th birthday approaches, her simple, blissful life is complicated by the discovery that she's pregnant. Kicked out of her house, she finds a new family with her great-granduncle and gay cousin.2006
- DirectorChris EskaStarsPedro CastanedaVeronica LorenAbel BecerraAugust Evening follows an aging undocumented farm worker named Jaime and his young, widowed daughter-in-law, Lupe, as their lives are thrown into upheaval. Lupe is more of a daughter to Jaime than his own children, and the two try to stick together... but change is inevitable.2007
- DirectorAlex HoldridgeStarsScoot McNairySara SimmondsBrian McGuireBroke and alone on New Year's Eve, Wilson just wants to spend the rest of a very bad year in bed. But, when his best friend convinces him to post a personal ad, he meets a woman bent on finding the right guy to be with at midnight.2008
- DirectorLynn SheltonStarsMark DuplassJoshua LeonardAlycia DelmoreTwo guys take their bromance to another level when they participate in an art film project.2009
- DirectorsBenny SafdieJosh SafdieStarsRonald BronsteinAlex GreenblattSage RanaldoA father juggling his kids with the rest of his responsibilities is ultimately faced with the choice of being their father or their friend.2010
- DirectorDee ReesStarsAdepero OduyeKim WayansAasha DavisA Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.2011
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsEmayatzy CorinealdiDavid OyelowoLorraine ToussaintRuby goes on a journey of self-discovery when she drops out of medical school in order to focus on her incarcerated husband's well-being.2012
- DirectorChad HartiganStarsPaul EenhoornDemetrius GrosseTom PlunkettMartin Bonner has just moved to Nevada from the East Coast, leaving behind his two adult children and a life he spent more than two decades building.2013
- DirectorsAaron KatzMartha StephensStarsEarl Lynn NelsonPaul EenhoornDaníel GylfasonA pair of former brothers-in-law embark on a road trip through Iceland.2014
- DirectorTrey Edward ShultsStarsKrisha FairchildAlex DobrenkoRobyn FairchildKrisha returns for Thanksgiving dinner after ten years away from her family, but past demons threaten to ruin the festivities.2015
- DirectorAndrew AhnStarsJoe SeoYoun Ho ChoHaerry KimA closeted Korean-American teenager takes a job at a Korean spa to help his struggling family, only to discover an underground world of gay sex at the spa that both scares and excites him.2016
- DirectorAntonio Méndez EsparzaStarsAndrew BleechingtonRegina WilliamsRobert WilliamsStanding on the edge of adulthood, Andrew yearns to find his purpose as a young black man in today's America. With his mother longing to find more to her life than parenting, Andrew is forced to take on the mounting pressure of family responsibility. His search for connection with an absent father, leads him to a dangerous crossroads.2017
- DirectorJim McKayStarsFernando CardonaGilberto JimenezAbel PerezA group of undocumented Mexican immigrants work long hours six days a week, and then savor their day of rest on Sundays on the soccer fields of Brooklyn.2018
- DirectorKirill MikhanovskyStarsChris GalustLauren 'Lolo' SpencerMaksim StoyanovIn this freewheeling comedy, medical transport driver Vic risks his job to shuttle a group of rowdy seniors and a Russian boxer to a funeral, dragging clients like Tracy, a young woman with ALS, along for the ride.2019
- DirectorMerawi GerimaStarsObinna NwachukwuDennis LindseyTaline StewartA young filmmaker returns home after many years away, to write a script about his childhood, only to find his neighborhood unrecognizable and his childhood friends being scattered to the wind.2020
- DirectorEmma SeligmanStarsRachel SennottDanny DeferrariFred MelamedWhile at a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student has an awkward encounter with her sugar daddy and ex-girlfriend.2021
- DirectorRicky D'AmbroseStarsMonica BarbaroBrian d'Arcy JamesGeraldine SingerAn only child's meditative, impressionistic account of an American family's rise and fall over two decades.2022
- DirectorBabak JalaliStarsAnaita Wali ZadaGregg TurkingtonJeremy Allen WhiteDonya works for a Chinese fortune cookie factory. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie.2023
