21st Independent Spirit Awards facts for kids

The 21st Independent Spirit Awards celebrated the best independent films made in 2005. These awards are special because they honor movies created outside of big Hollywood studios. The event took place on March 4, 2006, and was hosted by the comedian Sarah Silverman.

Award Winners and Nominees

The Independent Spirit Awards recognize many different parts of filmmaking, from the best movie to the best actors and writers. Here are some of the main winners from the 21st awards ceremony:

Best Film

This award goes to the best overall independent movie.

• Brokeback Mountain was the big winner for Best Feature Film.
• Other great films nominated were Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck., The Squid and the Whale, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

Best Director

This award honors the person who did the best job leading the making of a film.

Ang Lee, who won Best Director for Brokeback Mountain

• Ang Lee won for Brokeback Mountain.
• Other directors nominated included Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin, Noah Baumbach for The Squid and the Whale, George Clooney for Good Night, and Good Luck., and Rodrigo García for Nine Lives.

Best Male Lead

This award is for the best performance by a male actor in a main role.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Best Male Lead winner

• Philip Seymour Hoffman won for his role in Capote.
• Nominees included Jeff Daniels for The Squid and the Whale, Terrence Howard for Hustle & Flow, Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain, and David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck..

Best Female Lead

This award is for the best performance by a female actor in a main role.

Felicity Huffman, Best Female Lead winner

• Felicity Huffman won for her role in Transamerica.
• Other nominees were Dina Korzun for Forty Shades of Blue, Laura Linney for The Squid and the Whale, S. Epatha Merkerson for Lackawanna Blues, and Cyndi Williams for Room.

Best Supporting Male

This award is for the best performance by a male actor in a smaller, but important, role.

Matt Dillon, Best Supporting Male winner

• Matt Dillon won for his part in Crash.
• Nominees included Firdous Bamji for The War Within, Jesse Eisenberg for The Squid and the Whale, Barry Pepper for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and Jeffrey Wright for Broken Flowers.

Best Supporting Female

This award is for the best performance by a female actor in a smaller, but important, role.

Amy Adams, Best Supporting Female winner

• Amy Adams won for her role in Junebug.
• Other nominees were Maggie Gyllenhaal for Happy Endings, Allison Janney for Our Very Own, Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain, and Robin Wright Penn for Nine Lives.

Best Screenplay

This award goes to the best original story written for a film.

• Dan Futterman won for Capote.
• Other screenplays nominated were Nine Lives by Rodrigo García, The Squid and the Whale by Noah Baumbach, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada by Guillermo Arriaga, and The War Within by Ayad Akhtar, Joseph Castelo and Tom Glynn.

Best First Screenplay

This award celebrates the best screenplay written by someone for their very first film.

• Duncan Tucker won for Transamerica.
• Nominees included The Beautiful Country by Sabina Murray, Fixing Frank by Ken Hanes, Junebug by Angus MacLachlan, and Me and You and Everyone We Know by Miranda July.

Best First Feature

This award is for the best film made by a director for the first time.

• Crash won this award.
• Other nominated first films were Lackawanna Blues, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Thumbsucker, and Transamerica.

Best Documentary

This award honors the best non-fiction film that tells a true story.

• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room won for Best Documentary.
• Other documentaries nominated were Grizzly Man, Romántico, La Sierra, and Sir! No Sir!.

Best Cinematography

This award recognizes the best work in filming a movie, including lighting and camera angles.

• Robert Elswit won for Good Night, and Good Luck..
• Other cinematographers nominated were Adam Kimmel for Capote, John Foster for Keane, Harris Savides for Last Days, and Chris Menges for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

Best International Film

This award is for the best film made outside of the United States.

• Paradise Now from Palestine, Netherlands, Germany, and France won this award.
• Other international films nominated were The Death of Mr. Lazarescu from Romania, Duck Season from Germany/Turkey, Head-On from France, and Tony Takitani from Japan.

Films with Multiple Wins

Several films won more than one award at the 21st Independent Spirit Awards. Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, and Transamerica each took home two awards, showing their strong impact in independent cinema that year.

Special Awards

Besides the main categories, the Independent Spirit Awards also give out special honors to people and films that stand out.

John Cassavetes Award

This award is given to a film made for less than $500,000. It celebrates movies that show great creativity and independence, even with a small budget.

• Conventioneers won this award.
• Other nominees were Brick, Jellysmoke, The Puffy Chair, and Room.

Truer Than Fiction Award

This award goes to an emerging director of non-fiction films, someone who is showing great talent in making documentaries.

• Occupation: Dreamland won the Truer Than Fiction Award.
• Nominees included Our Brand Is Crisis, Romántico, and Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela.

Producers Award

This award recognizes producers who show creativity, vision, and persistence in making independent films.

• Caroline Baron won for her work on Capote and Monsoon Wedding.
• Other nominated producers were Ram Bergman for Brick and Conversations with Other Women, and Mike S. Ryan for Junebug and Palindromes.

Someone to Watch Award

This award is for a talented filmmaker who has not yet received wide recognition. It helps bring attention to new and exciting voices in film.

• Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana won for their film Cavite.
• Nominees included Robinson Devor for Police Beat and Jay Duplass for The Puffy Chair.