The ballet-as-psychological thriller “Black Swan” was the big winner at Saturday’s 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards, sweeping three of the four top prizes.
The film was named Best Picture; its star, Natalie Portman, won Best Actress accolades; and the director, Darren Aronofsky, took home the prize for Best Director. It also won for Best Cinematography.
“Winter's Bone,” the gritty tale of a girl's search in the Ozark mountains for her drug-dealing father, won awards for Best Supporting Actress, Dale Dickey and Best Supporting Actor, John Hawkes.
Academy Awards co-host James Franco was named Best Actor for his riveting performance as a Colorado adventurer who has to cut off his right arm after he becomes pinned under a boulder in Utah.
“The Kids Are All Right” about a lesbian couple struggling to keep their family together, won the award for Best Screenplay.
Going into today's ceremony, which was hosted by actor-comedian Joel McHale and held in Santa Monica, “Winter’s Bone” had a leading seven nominations.
To be eligible for a Spirit Award, films must be at least 70 minutes long, and the cost must be less than $20 million. Films also must have been shown in a commercial theater for at least one week or have been shown at one of the qualifying festivals -- Film Independent's Los Angeles Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, New York, Sundance, Telluride or Toronto.
Here is a complete list of winners:
- Best Picture: “Black Swan”
- Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
- Best Actress: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
- Best Actor: James Franco, “127 Hours”
- Best Supporting Actress: Dale Dickey, “Winter's Bone
- Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
- Best Screenplay: “The Kids Are All Right”
- Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, “Black Swan”
- Best Documentary: “Exit Through the Gift Shop”
- Best Foreign Film: “The King’s Speech”
- Best First Feature: “Get Low”
- Best First Screenplay: Lena Dunham, “Tiny Furniture”
- Truer Than Fiction Award: “Marwencol,” Jeff Malmberg
- Someone to Watch Award: Mike Ott, “Littlerock”
- Producers Award: Anish Savjani, “Meek’s Cutoff”
- Robert Altman Award (ensemble): “Please Give”
- John Cassavetes Award: “Daddy Longlegs”
