The Farewell

Source: Sundance Film Festival

‘The Farewell’

Lulu Wang’s The Farewell was named best feature at the Spirit Awards in Santa Monica on Saturday (8) in a night that recognised female directing talent in stark contrast to tomorrow’s Oscars.

Olivia Wilde won best first film for Booksmart, and American Factory, co-directed by Julia Reichert, (alongside Steven Bognar), won best documentary.

Renée Zellweger won best actress for Judy and has virtually swept the boards this awards season ahead of Sunday’s expected win at the Academy Awards.

Adam Sandler was a popular winner for Uncut Gems, which took home three trophies on the night – including best directing for the Safdie brothers, and best editing for Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie.

Noah Baumbach won best screenplay for Marriage Story, and Bong Joon ho’s Parasite was named best international film.

In the supporting acting categories, Zhao Shuzhen from The Farewell won (Wang collected the award on behalf of the actress who is stranded in China due to the coronavirus outbreak), and Willem Dafoe triumphed for The Lighthouse.

Uncut Gems and The Lighthouse started out the night with the most nominations on five nominations apiece.

Winners appear below in bold.

BEST FEATURE

  • A Hidden Life
  • Clemency
  • The Farewell
  • Marriage Story
  • Uncut Gems

BEST FIRST FEATURE

  • Booksmart
  • The Climb
  • Diane
  • The Last Black Man in San Francisco
  • The Mustang
  • See You Yesterday

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

  • Burning Cane
  • Colewell
  • Give Me Liberty
  • Premature
  • Wild Nights With Emily 

BEST DIRECTOR

  • Alma Har’el, Honey Boy
  • Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers
  • Julius Onah, Luce
  • Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
  • Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems

BEST SCREENPLAY

  • Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
  • Jason Begue, Shawn Snyder, To Dust
  • Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
  • Chinonye Chukwu, Clemency
  • Tarell Alvin McCraney, High Flying Bird 

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

  • Fredrica Bailey, Stefon Bristol, See You Yesterday
  • Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, Driveways
  • Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy, Blow the Man Down
  • Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe, Greener Grass
  • James Montague, Craig W. Sanger, The Vast of Night

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Todd Banhazl, Hustlers
  • Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse
  • Natasha Braier, Honey Boy
  • Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife
  • Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommar

BEST EDITING

  • Julie Béziau, The Third Wife
  • Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems
  • Tyler L Cook, Sword of Trust
  • Louise Ford, The Lighthouse
  • Kirill Mikhanovsky, Give Me Liberty

BEST FEMALE LEAD

  • Karen Allen, Colewell
  • Hong Chau, Driveways
  • Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell
  • Mary Kay Place, Diane
  • Alfre Woodard, Clemency
  • Renée Zellweger, Judy

BEST MALE LEAD

  • Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty
  • Kelvin Harrison Jr, Luce
  • Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse
  • Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang
  • Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

  • Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
  • Taylor Russell, Waves
  • Lauren ‘Lolo’ Spencer, Give Me Liberty
  • Octavia Spencer, Luce
  • Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

  • Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
  • Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
  • Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy
  • Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man In San Francisco
  • Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

Marriage Story

BEST DOCUMENTARY

  • American Factory
  • Apollo 11
  • For Sama
  • Honeyland
  • Island Of The Hungry Ghosts

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

  • Invisible Life, Brazil
  • Les Misérables, France
  • Parasite, South Korea
  • Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, France
  • Retablo, Peru
  • The Souvenir, United Kingdom 

BONNIE AWARD

  • Marielle Heller
  • Kelly Reichardt
  • Lulu Wang

PRODUCERS AWARD

  • Mollye Asher
  • Krista Parris
  • Ryan Zacarias

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

  • Rashaad Ernesto Green, director of Premature
  • Ash Mayfair, director of The Third Wife
  • Joe Talbot, director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

  • Khalik Allah, director of Black Mother
  • Davy Rothbart, director of 17 Blocks
  • Nadia Shihab, director of Jaddoland
  • Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside, directors of América