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Independent Spirit Award for Best Director
Annual US film award
Annual US film award
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Independent Spirit Award for Best Director |
| awarded_for | Best Director |
| image | Sean Baker at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (cropped).jpg |
| caption | The 2024 recipient: Sean Baker |
| presenter | Film Independent |
| country | United States |
| year | 1985 |
| holder | Sean Baker for Anora (2024) |
| website |
The Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Director is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.
History
It was first presented in 1985 with Joel Coen and Martin Scorsese being the first winners of the category for Blood Simple and After Hours, respectively.
Directors Barry Jenkins, Tom McCarthy, Joel Coen and Alexander Payne are the only winners who have received this award more than once, with two wins each. Todd Haynes holds the record of most nominations with six (winning one for Far from Heaven), followed by Gus Van Sant with five. Martha Coolidge was the first female director to win the award, receiving it in 1991. Chloé Zhao was the first female of color to win the category in 2020.
Winners and nominees
1980s
| Year | Recipient(s) | Film | 1985 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | ||||
| Joel Coen | *Blood Simple* | ||||||
| Martin Scorsese | *After Hours* | ||||||
| Joyce Chopra | Smooth Talk | ||||||
| Peter Masterson | The Trip to Bountiful | ||||||
| Oliver Stone | *Platoon* | ||||||
| Jim Jarmusch | Down by Law | ||||||
| David Lynch | Blue Velvet | ||||||
| Rob Reiner | Stand by Me | ||||||
| Oliver Stone | Salvador | ||||||
| John Huston | *The Dead* | ||||||
| Jonathan Demme | Swimming to Cambodia | ||||||
| Tim Hunter | River's Edge | ||||||
| Jim McBride | The Big Easy | ||||||
| John Sayles | Matewan | ||||||
| Ramon Menendez | *Stand and Deliver* | ||||||
| David Burton Morris | Patti Rocks | ||||||
| Errol Morris | The Thin Blue Line | ||||||
| Oliver Stone | Talk Radio | ||||||
| John Waters | Hairspray | ||||||
| Steven Soderbergh | *Sex, Lies, and Videotape* | ||||||
| Jim Jarmusch | Mystery Train | ||||||
| Charles Lane | Sidewalk Stories | ||||||
| Nancy Savoca | True Love | ||||||
| Gus Van Sant | Drugstore Cowboy |
1990s
| Year | Recipient(s) | Film | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | ||||||||||||
| Charles Burnett | *To Sleep with Anger* | |||||||||||
| Reginald Hudlin | House Party | |||||||||||
| John McNaughton | Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer | |||||||||||
| Allan Moyle | Pump Up the Volume | |||||||||||
| Michael Roemer | The Plot Against Harry | |||||||||||
| Martha Coolidge | *Rambling Rose* | |||||||||||
| Todd Haynes | Poison | |||||||||||
| Richard Linklater | Slacker | |||||||||||
| Gus Van Sant | My Own Private Idaho | |||||||||||
| Joseph Vásquez | Hangin' with the Homeboys | |||||||||||
| Carl Franklin | *One False Move* | |||||||||||
| Allison Anders | Gas Food Lodging | |||||||||||
| Abel Ferrara | Bad Lieutenant | |||||||||||
| Tom Kalin | Swoon | |||||||||||
| Quentin Tarantino | Reservoir Dogs | |||||||||||
| Robert Altman | *Short Cuts* | |||||||||||
| Ang Lee | The Wedding Banquet | |||||||||||
| Victor Nuñez | Ruby in Paradise | |||||||||||
| Robert Rodriguez | El Mariachi | |||||||||||
| John Turturro | Mac | |||||||||||
| Quentin Tarantino | *Pulp Fiction* | |||||||||||
| John Dahl | Red Rock West | |||||||||||
| Ang Lee | Eat Drink Man Woman | |||||||||||
| Roman Polanski | Death and the Maiden | |||||||||||
| Alan Rudolph | Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle | |||||||||||
| Mike Figgis | *Leaving Las Vegas* | |||||||||||
| Michael Almereyda | Nadja | |||||||||||
| Ulu Grosbard | Georgia | |||||||||||
| Todd Haynes | Safe | |||||||||||
| John Sayles | The Secret of Roan Inish | |||||||||||
| Joel Coen | *Fargo* | |||||||||||
| Abel Ferrara | The Funeral | |||||||||||
| David O. Russell | Flirting with Disaster | |||||||||||
| Todd Solondz | Welcome to the Dollhouse | |||||||||||
| Robert M. Young | Caught | |||||||||||
| Robert Duvall | *The Apostle* | |||||||||||
| Larry Fessenden | Habit | |||||||||||
| Victor Nuñez | Ulee's Gold | |||||||||||
| Paul Schrader | Touch | |||||||||||
| Wim Wenders | The End of Violence | |||||||||||
| Wes Anderson | *Rushmore* | |||||||||||
| Todd Haynes | Velvet Goldmine | |||||||||||
| Lodge Kerrigan | Claire Dolan | |||||||||||
| Paul Schrader | Affliction | |||||||||||
| Todd Solondz | Happiness | |||||||||||
| Alexander Payne | *Election* | |||||||||||
| Harmony Korine | Julien Donkey-Boy | |||||||||||
| Doug Liman | Go | |||||||||||
| David Lynch | The Straight Story | |||||||||||
| Steven Soderbergh | The Limey |
2000s
| Year | Recipient(s) | Film | 2000 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | ||||||||||||
| 2002 | ||||||||||||
| 2003 | ||||||||||||
| 2004 | ||||||||||||
| 2005 | ||||||||||||
| 2006 | ||||||||||||
| 2007 | ||||||||||||
| 2008 | ||||||||||||
| 2009 | ||||||||||||
| Ang Lee | *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* | |||||||||||
| Darren Aronofsky | Requiem for a Dream | |||||||||||
| Miguel Arteta | Chuck & Buck | |||||||||||
| Christopher Guest | Best in Show | |||||||||||
| Julian Schnabel | Before Night Falls | |||||||||||
| Christopher Nolan | *Memento* | |||||||||||
| Michael Cuesta | L.I.E. | |||||||||||
| Cheryl Dunye | Stranger Inside | |||||||||||
| Richard Linklater | Waking Life | |||||||||||
| John Cameron Mitchell | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | |||||||||||
| Todd Haynes | *Far from Heaven* | |||||||||||
| Joe Carnahan | Narc | |||||||||||
| Nicole Holofcener | Lovely & Amazing | |||||||||||
| Bernard Rose | Ivans Xtc | |||||||||||
| Gus Van Sant | Gerry | |||||||||||
| Sofia Coppola | *Lost in Translation* | |||||||||||
| Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini | American Splendor | |||||||||||
| Jim Sheridan | In America | |||||||||||
| Peter Sollett | Raising Victor Vargas | |||||||||||
| Gus Van Sant | Elephant | |||||||||||
| Alexander Payne | *Sideways* | |||||||||||
| Shane Carruth | Primer | |||||||||||
| Joshua Marston | Maria Full of Grace | |||||||||||
| Walter Salles | The Motorcycle Diaries | |||||||||||
| Mario Van Peebles | Baadasssss! | |||||||||||
| Ang Lee | *Brokeback Mountain* | |||||||||||
| Gregg Araki | Mysterious Skin | |||||||||||
| Noah Baumbach | The Squid and the Whale | |||||||||||
| George Clooney | Good Night, and Good Luck | |||||||||||
| Rodrigo García | Nine Lives | |||||||||||
| Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris | *Little Miss Sunshine* | |||||||||||
| Robert Altman | A Prairie Home Companion | |||||||||||
| Ryan Fleck | Half Nelson | |||||||||||
| Karen Moncrieff | The Dead Girl | |||||||||||
| Steven Soderbergh | Bubble | |||||||||||
| Julian Schnabel | *The Diving Bell and the Butterfly* | |||||||||||
| Todd Haynes | I'm Not There | |||||||||||
| Tamara Jenkins | The Savages | |||||||||||
| Jason Reitman | Juno | |||||||||||
| Gus Van Sant | Paranoid Park | |||||||||||
| Tom McCarthy | *The Visitor* | |||||||||||
| Ramin Bahrani | Chop Shop | |||||||||||
| Jonathan Demme | Rachel Getting Married | |||||||||||
| Lance Hammer | Ballast | |||||||||||
| Courtney Hunt | Frozen River | |||||||||||
| Lee Daniels | *Precious* | |||||||||||
| Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | A Serious Man | |||||||||||
| Cary Fukunaga | Sin Nombre | |||||||||||
| James Gray | Two Lovers | |||||||||||
| Michael Hoffman | The Last Station |
2010s
| Year | Recipient(s) | Film | 2010 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||||||
| 2016 | ||||||||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||||||
| Darren Aronofsky | *Black Swan* | |||||||||||
| Danny Boyle | 127 Hours | |||||||||||
| Lisa Cholodenko | The Kids Are All Right | |||||||||||
| Debra Granik | Winter's Bone | |||||||||||
| John Cameron Mitchell | Rabbit Hole | |||||||||||
| Michel Hazanavicius | *The Artist* | |||||||||||
| Mike Mills | Beginners | |||||||||||
| Jeff Nichols | Take Shelter | |||||||||||
| Alexander Payne | The Descendants | |||||||||||
| Nicolas Winding Refn | Drive | |||||||||||
| David O. Russell | *Silver Linings Playbook* | |||||||||||
| Wes Anderson | Moonrise Kingdom | |||||||||||
| Julia Loktev | The Loneliest Planet | |||||||||||
| Ira Sachs | Keep the Lights On | |||||||||||
| Benh Zeitlin | Beasts of the Southern Wild | |||||||||||
| Steve McQueen | *12 Years a Slave* | |||||||||||
| Shane Carruth | Upstream Color | |||||||||||
| J. C. Chandor | All Is Lost | |||||||||||
| Jeff Nichols | Mud | |||||||||||
| Alexander Payne | Nebraska | |||||||||||
| Richard Linklater | *Boyhood* | |||||||||||
| Damien Chazelle | Whiplash | |||||||||||
| Ava DuVernay | Selma | |||||||||||
| Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | |||||||||||
| David Zellner | Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter | |||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||
| Barry Jenkins | *Moonlight* | |||||||||||
| Andrea Arnold | American Honey | |||||||||||
| Pablo Larraín | Jackie | |||||||||||
| Jeff Nichols | Loving | |||||||||||
| Kelly Reichardt | Certain Women | |||||||||||
| Jordan Peele | *Get Out* | |||||||||||
| Sean Baker | The Florida Project | |||||||||||
| Jonas Carpignano | A Ciambra | |||||||||||
| Luca Guadagnino | Call Me by Your Name | |||||||||||
| Safdie Brothers | Good Time | |||||||||||
| Chloé Zhao | The Rider | |||||||||||
| Barry Jenkins | *If Beale Street Could Talk* | |||||||||||
| Debra Granik | Leave No Trace | |||||||||||
| Tamara Jenkins | Private Life | |||||||||||
| Lynne Ramsay | You Were Never Really Here | |||||||||||
| Paul Schrader | First Reformed | |||||||||||
| Safdie Brothers | *Uncut Gems* | |||||||||||
| Robert Eggers | The Lighthouse | |||||||||||
| Alma Har'el | Honey Boy | |||||||||||
| Julius Onah | Luce | |||||||||||
| Lorene Scafaria | Hustlers |
2020s
| Year | Recipient(s) | Film | 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | |||||||||
| 2022 | |||||||||
| 2023 | |||||||||
| 2024 | |||||||||
| 2025 | |||||||||
| Chloé Zhao | *Nomadland* | ||||||||
| Lee Isaac Chung | Minari | ||||||||
| Emerald Fennell | Promising Young Woman | ||||||||
| Eliza Hittman | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | ||||||||
| Kelly Reichardt | First Cow | ||||||||
| Maggie Gyllenhaal | *The Lost Daughter* | ||||||||
| Janicza Bravo | Zola | ||||||||
| Lauren Hadaway | The Novice | ||||||||
| Mike Mills | C'mon C'mon | ||||||||
| Ninja Thyberg | Pleasure | ||||||||
| Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert | *Everything Everywhere All at Once* | ||||||||
| Todd Field | Tár | ||||||||
| Kogonada | After Yang | ||||||||
| Sarah Polley | Women Talking | ||||||||
| Halina Reijn | Bodies Bodies Bodies | ||||||||
| Celine Song | *Past Lives* | ||||||||
| Andrew Haigh | All of Us Strangers | ||||||||
| Todd Haynes | May December | ||||||||
| William Oldroyd | Eileen | ||||||||
| Ira Sachs | Passages | ||||||||
| Sean Baker | *Anora* | ||||||||
| Ali Abbasi | The Apprentice | ||||||||
| Brady Corbet | The Brutalist | ||||||||
| Alonso Ruizpalacios | La cocina | ||||||||
| Jane Schoenbrun | I Saw the TV Glow | ||||||||
| Clint Bentley | Train Dreams | ||||||||
| Mary Bronstein | If I Had Legs I'd Kick You | ||||||||
| Lloyd Lee Choi | Lucky Lu | ||||||||
| Ira Sachs | Peter Hujar's Day | ||||||||
| Eva Victor | Sorry, Baby |
Multiple nominations and wins
Multiple nominations
| Wins | Director |
|---|---|
| Todd Haynes | |
| 5 | Gus van Sant |
| 4 | Ang Lee |
| Alexander Payne | |
| 3 | Joel Coen |
| Richard Linklater | |
| Jeff Nichols | |
| Ira Sachs | |
| Paul Schrader | |
| Steven Soderbergh | |
| Oliver Stone | |
| Sean Baker |
Multiple wins
| Wins | Director |
|---|---|
| 2 | Barry Jenkins |
| Tom McCarthy | |
| Joel Coen | |
| Ang Lee | |
| Alexander Payne |
References
References
- [https://s3.amazonaws.com/SA_SubForm_etc/2019_SA_NomsWinners_092619.pdf Film Independent Spirit Awards - 34 Years of Nominees and Winners]
- [https://www.goldderby.com/article/2019/independent-spirit-awards-predictions-barry-jenkins-director-if-beale-street-could-talk/ Barry Jenkins expected to join tiny group of double directing champs at Spirit Awards - GoldDerby]
- [https://www.indiewire.com/1999/03/the-1999-spirit-awards-gods-monsters-sex-and-dog-turds-82338/# The 1999 Spirit Awards: Gods, Monsters, Sex and Dog Turds. IndieWire]
- (January 14, 2000). "'The Limey,' 'Election' Got the Spirit". Hollywood.com.
- (March 26, 2000). "'Election' Elected by Spirit Awards". Hollywood.com.
- (March 24, 2001). "Tiger Takes 3 Spirit Awards". ABC News.
- (March 23, 2002). ""Memento" Has the Spirit". E! Online.
- (March 22, 2003). ""Far From Heaven" Sweeps 2003 Independent Spirit Awards". [[IndieWire]].
- Hernandez, Eugene. (February 28, 2004). ""Lost In Translation" Tops Independent Spirit Awards, "Station Agent" Another Big Winner". [[IndieWire]].
- Hernandez, Eugene. (February 28, 2005). "Sideways Wins Six at Independent Spirit Awards". [[IndieWire]].
- Germain, David. (March 4, 2006). "'Brokeback' named best independent film". [[USA Today]].
- McNary, Dave. (February 24, 2007). "'Sunshine' brightens Spirit Awards". [[Variety (magazine).
- Siegel, Tatiana. (February 23, 2008). "'Juno' tops Spirit Awards". [[Variety (magazine).
- Brooks, Brian. (February 21, 2009). ""The Wrestler" Leads 2009 Spirit Award Winners". [[IndieWire]].
- Breznican, Anthony. (March 6, 2010). "'Precious' dominates Spirit Awards with 5 prizes". [[USA Today]].
- Knegt, Peter. (February 27, 2011). ""Black Swan" Lead Spirit Award Winners". [[IndieWire]].
- McNary, Dave. (February 25, 2012). "'The Artist' dominates Spirit Awards". [[Variety (magazine).
- (February 23, 2013). "Independent Spirit Awards 2013: Winners List". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
- Atkinson, Katie. "Independent Spirit Awards 2014: The winners list".
- (February 21, 2015). "Spirit Awards 2015: The Complete Winners List".
- (February 27, 2016). "Spirit Awards 2016: Complete Winners List".
- Earl, William. (February 26, 2017). "2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Full Winners List".
- Nyren, Erin. (March 3, 2018). "2018 Independent Spirit Awards: Winners List (Updating Live)".
- Welk, Brian. (February 24, 2019). "Independent Spirit Awards 2019: Complete Winners List".
- (February 8, 2020). "Independent Spirit Awards Redresses Female Balance With Wins For Lulu Wang, Olivia Wilde & Julia Reichert – Complete Winners List".
- Grobar, Matt. (April 22, 2021). "'Nomadland' Wins Independent Spirit Awards For Best Picture, Director, Editing & Cinematography, Further Solidifying Oscars Prospects".
- Sharf, Zack. (April 23, 2021). "2021 Independent Spirit Awards Winner's List".
- (December 14, 2021). "Indie Spirit Awards 2022: Full List of Nominations". [[Variety (magazine).
- Davis, Clayton. (November 22, 2022). "Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: 'Everything Everywhere' Leads With Eight Noms". [[Variety (magazine).
- "Film Independent Spirit Awards (2024)".
- D'Alessandro, Anthony. (2024-12-04). "Spirit Awards Best Feature Nominees Include ‘Anora’, ‘I Saw The TV Glow’, ‘Nickel Boys’, ‘Sing Sing’ & ‘The Substance’".
- [https://variety.com/2025/film/news/spirit-awards-2026-nominations-1236596640/ Spirit Awards 2026 Nominations: Full List – Variety]
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