2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards: A24’s “Past Lives” Wins Best Feature
Film Independent
The 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards held its annual ceremony on Sunday, honoring outstanding achievements in independent filmmaking. One of the night’s biggest winners was the indie romantic drama “Past Lives” produced by A24, which took home the prestigious Best Feature award.
Directed by Celine Song, “Past Lives” tells a compelling story of love and self-discovery. The film’s success at the Spirit Awards further solidifies its chances at the upcoming Oscars, where it is also nominated for Best Picture.
Competing against notable films like Netflix’s “May December” and Amazon MGM Studios’ “American Fiction,” “Past Lives” emerged victorious in the coveted Best Feature category, showcasing the film’s exceptional storytelling and impactful performances.
It’s worth noting that A24, the production company behind “Past Lives,” achieved significant acclaim at the Spirit Awards in the past. Last year’s Best Feature winner, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” also produced by A24, went on to win the prestigious Best Picture Oscar.
Outstanding Performances Recognized
Apart from the Best Feature award, the Spirit Awards also celebrated exceptional performances in various categories. Jeffrey Wright was honored with the Best Lead Performance award for his remarkable role in “American Fiction.” The film’s writer-director, Cord Jefferson, also took home the award for Best Screenplay. “May December” writers Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik won the Best First Screenplay prize.
In terms of nominations, “Past Lives,” “American Fiction,” and “May December” stood out with the most overall nominations, each receiving five. However, it was Focus Features’ “The Holdovers,” an Oscar Best Picture nominee, that landed the most awards at the Spirit Awards with three wins. The film secured victories for Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Best Supporting Performance, Dominic Sassa for Breakthrough Performance, and Eigil Bryld for Cinematography.
Recognition for Diverse Filmmaking
The Spirit Awards also recognized outstanding international films and documentaries. “Anatomy of a Fall” from France won the Best International Film award, while “Four Daughters” was honored as the Best Documentary.
In the television categories, standout performances by Nick Offerman and Keivonn Montreal Woodard in “The Last of Us” received multiple awards. “Beef” was recognized as the Best New Scripted Series, with co-star Ali Wong winning the Best Lead Performance category.
The ceremony, hosted by former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Aidy Bryant, was not without interruption. As attendees enjoyed the streamed-only event, the sounds of a pro-Palestinian protester outside the venue occasionally disrupted the proceedings. Despite the interruption, the Spirit Awards continued to celebrate the achievements of independent filmmaking.
Full List of Winners
BEST FEATURE
– “Past Lives” (Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon)
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
– Jeffrey Wright in “American Fiction”
BEST DIRECTOR
– Celine Song for “Past Lives”
BEST FIRST FEATURE
– “A Thousand and One” (Director: A.V. Rockwell, Producers: Julia Lebedev, Rishi Rajani, Eddie Vaisman, Lena Waithe, Brad Weston)
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
– Dominic Sessa in “The Holdovers”
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
– “Fremont” (Director/Writer: Babak Jalali, Writer: Carolina Cavalli, Producers: Rachael Fung, Chris Martin, Marjaneh Moghimi, George Rush, Sudnya Shroff, Laura Wagner)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
– Eigil Bryld for “The Holdovers”
BEST EDITING
– Daniel Garber for “How to Blow Up a Pipeline”
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
– “Beef” (Creator/Executive Producer: Lee Sung Jin, Executive Producers: Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Jake Schreier, Ravi Nandan, Alli Reich, Co-Executive Producers: Alice Ju, Carrie Kemper)
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
– Ali Wong in “Beef”
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES
– “Dear Mama” (Executive Producers: Lasse Järvi, Quincy ‘QD3’ Jones III, Staci Robinson, Nelson George, Charles D. King, Peter Nelson, Adel ‘Future’ Nur, Jamal Joseph, Ted Skillman, Allen Hughes, Steve Berman, Marc Cimino, Jody Gerson, John Janick, Nicholas Ferrall, Nigel Sinclair)
BEST SCREENPLAY
– Cord Jefferson for “American Fiction”
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
– Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik for “May December”
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
– “Anatomy of a Fall” (Director: Justine Triet)
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
– Keivonn Montreal Woodard in “The Last of Us”
BEST DOCUMENTARY
– “Four Daughters” (Director: Kaouther Ben Hania, Producer: Nadim Cheikhrouha)
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
– Nick Offerman in “The Last of Us”
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
– Da’Vine Joy Randolph in “The Holdovers”
Additional Awards
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
– Set Hernandez for “Unseen” (Director)
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
– “Showing Up” (Director: Kelly Reichardt, Casting Director: Gayle Keller, Ensemble Cast: André Benjamin, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Heather Lawless, James Le Gros, John Magaro, Matt Malloy, Amanda Plummer, Maryann Plunkett, Denzel Rodriguez, Michelle Williams)
PRODUCERS AWARD
– Monique Walton
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
– Monica Sorelle for “Mountains” (Director)
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
– “Jury Duty” (Ensemble Cast: Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, David Brown, Kirk Fox, Ross Kimball, Pramode Kumar, Trisha LaFache, Mekki Leeper, James Marsden, Edy Modica, Kerry O’Neill, Rashida Olayiwola, Whitney Rice, Maria Russell, Ishmel Sahid, Ben Seaward, Ron Song, Evan Williams)
