Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature

The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It is usually given to the director (or directors) and producer (or producers). The "first feature" designation is applied to the director not the producer(s). Therefore, producers have been nominated multiple times.

In 2000, this category was split into two separate categories: one for films with budgets over $500,000 and a new category, the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, which was restricted to films with budgets under $500,000. In 2001, films could be eligible regardless of their budget as long as it was feature film directorial debut.

Winners and nominees

1980s

Year Winner Director(s) Producer(s)
1986
[1]
She's Gotta Have It Spike Lee
Belizaire the CajunGlen PitreAllan L. Durand
A Great WallPeter WangShirley Sun
HoosiersDavid AnspaughJohn Daly, Carter DeHaven, Derek Gibson and Angelo Pizzo
True StoriesDavid ByrneGary Kurfirst
1987 Dirty Dancing Emile Ardolino Linda Gottlieb
AnnaYurek BogayeviczZanne Devine
Hollywood ShuffleRobert TownsendCarl Craig
SiestaMary LambertGary Kurfirst
Waiting for the MoonJill GodmilowSandra Schulberg
1988 Mystic Pizza Donald Petrie Mark Levinson and Scott M. Rosenfelt
Border RadioAllison Anders, Dean Lent and Kurt VossMarcus DeLeon
The Chocolate WarKeith GordonJonathan D. Krane
The Prince of PennsylvaniaRon NyswanerJonathan D. Krane
The WashMichael Toshiyuki UnoCalvin Skaggs
1989 Heathers Michael Lehmann Denise Di Novi
84 Charlie MopicPatrick Sheane DuncanMichael Nolan
Powwow HighwayJonathan WacksJan Wieringa
Sidewalk StoriesCharles LaneHoward M. Brickner
Talking to StrangersRob TregenzaJ.K. Eareckson

1990s

Year Winner Director(s) Producer(s)
1990 Metropolitan Whit Stillman
House PartyReginald HudlinWarrington Hudlin
Lightning Over BraddockTony Buba
The Natural History of Parking LotsEverett LewisAziz Ghazal
TwisterMichael AlmereydaWieland Schulz-Keil
1991 Straight Out of Brooklyn Matty Rich
Chameleon StreetWendell B. Harris Jr.
PoisonTodd HaynesChristine Vachon
The RaptureMichael TolkinKaren Koch, Nancy Tenenbaum and Nick Wechsler
SlackerRichard Linklater
1992 The Waterdance Neal Jimenez and Michael Steinberg Gale Anne Hurd, Marie Cantin and Guy Riedel
Laws of GravityNick GomezBob Gosse and Larry Meistrich
My New GunStacy CochranMichael Flynn
Reservoir DogsQuentin TarantinoLawrence Bender
SwoonTom KalinChristine Vachon
1993 El Mariachi Robert Rodriguez Robert Rodriguez and Carlos Gallardo
American HeartMartin BellJeff Bridges and Rosilyn Heller
Combination PlatterTony ChanTony Chan and Judy Moy
MacJohn TurturroBrenda Goodman and Nancy Tenenbaum
Menace II SocietyAllen and Albert HughesDarin Scott
1994 Spanking the Monkey David O. Russell Dean Silvers
Clean, ShavenLodge Kerrigan
ClerksKevin SmithKevin Smith and Scott Mosier
I Like It Like ThatDarnell MartinLane Janger
SutureDavid Siegel and Scott McGeheeDavid Siegel, Scott McGehee, and Michele Petin
1995 The Brothers McMullen Edward Burns Dick Fisher
KidsLarry ClarkCary Woods
Little OdessaJames GrayPaul Webster
Picture BrideKayo HattaDiane Mei Lin Mark and Lisa Onodera
River of GrassKelly ReichardtJesse Hartman
1996 Sling Blade Billy Bob Thornton David L. Bushell and Brandon Rosser
Big NightCampbell Scott and Stanley TucciJonathan Filley
I Shot Andy WarholMary HarronTom Kalin and Christine Vachon
Manny & LoLisa KruegerMarlen Hecht and Dean Silvers
Trees LoungeSteve BuscemiChris Hanley and Brad Wyman
1997 Eve's Bayou Kasi Lemmons Caldecot Chubb and Samuel L. Jackson
The Bible and Gun ClubDaniel J. Harris
Hard EightPaul Thomas AndersonRobert Jones and John S. Lyons
In the Company of MenNeil LaButeMark Archer and Stephen Pevner
Star MapsMiguel ArtetaMatthew Greenfield
1998 The Opposite of Sex Don Roos David Kirkpatrick and Michael Besman
Buffalo '66Vincent GalloChris Hanley
High ArtLisa CholodenkoDolly Hall, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Susan A. Stover
πDarren AronofskyEric Watson
Slums of Beverly HillsTamara JenkinsMichael Nozik and Stan Wlodkowski
1999 Being John Malkovich Spike Jonze Michael Stipe, Sandy Stern, Steve Golin and Vincent Landay
Boys Don't CryKimberly PeirceJeffrey Sharp, John Hart, Eva Kolodner and Christine Vachon
Three SeasonsTony BuiJason Kliot and Joana Vicente
Twin Falls IdahoMichael PolishMarshall Persinger, Rena Ronson and Steven J. Wolfe
Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down GirlJoan ChenJoan Chen and Wai-Chung Chan

2000s

Beginning in 2000, nominees were restricted to film with budgets over $500,000. The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award awarded first features that had budgets of less than $500,000.

Year Winner Director(s) Producer(s)
2000 You Can Count On Me Kenneth Lonergan John Hart, Jeffrey Sharp, Barbara De Fina and Larry Meistrich
Boiler RoomBen YoungerJennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd
GirlfightKaryn KusamaMaggie Renzi, Sarah Green and Martha Griffin
Love & BasketballGina Prince-BythewoodSpike Lee and Sam Kitt
The VisitJordan Walker-Pearlman
2001 In the Bedroom Todd Field Todd Field, Ross Katz, and Graham Leader
The Anniversary PartyAlan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh
The BelieverHenry BeanSusan Hoffman and Christopher Roberts
Donnie DarkoRichard KellySean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, and Adam Fields
Ghost WorldTerry ZwigoffLianne Halfon, John Malkovich, and Russell Smith
2002 The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys Peter Care Jodie Foster, Meg LeFauve, Jay Shapiro, and Todd McFarlane
Interview with the AssassinNeil BurgerBrian Koppelman and David Levien
ManitoEric EasonJesse Scolaro and Allen Bain
Paid in FullCharles Stone IIIDamon Dash, Jay-Z, Brett Ratner, Azie Faison, and Steve Rifkind
Roger DodgerDylan KiddDylan Kidd, Anne Chaisson, and Campbell Scott
2003 Monster Patty Jenkins Mark Damon, Donald Kushner, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron and Brad Wyman
Bomb the SystemAdam Bhala LoughBen Rekhi and Sol Tryon
House of Sand and FogVadim PerelmanVadim Perelman and Michael London
Quattro NozaJoey CurtisFredric King
ThirteenCatherine HardwickeJeffrey Levy-Hinte and Michael London
2004 Garden State Zach Braff Pamela Abdy, Gary Gilbert, Dan Halsted and Richard Klubeck
Brother to BrotherRodney EvansRodney Evans, Jim McKay, Isen Robbins and Aimee Schoof
Napoleon DynamiteJared HessJeremy Coon, Sean Covel and Chris Wyatt
Saints and SoldiersRyan LittleRyan Little and Adam Abel
The WoodsmanNicole KassellLee Daniels
2005 Crash Paul Haggis Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris and Bobby Moresco
Lackawanna BluesGeorge C. WolfeHalle Berry, Vince Cirrincione, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Nellie Nugiel and Shelby Stone
Me and You and Everyone We KnowMiranda JulyGina Kwon
ThumbsuckerMike MillsAnthony Bregman and Bob Stephenson
TransamericaDuncan TuckerSebastian Dungan, Linda Moran and Rene Bastian
2006 Sweet Land Ali Selim Alan Cumming and James Bigham
Day Night Day NightJulia LoktevMelanie Judd and Jessica Levin
Man Push CartRamin BahraniPradip Ghosh and Bedford T. Bentley
The MotelMichael KangMatthew Greenfield, Miguel Arteta, Gina Kwon and Karin Chien
Wristcutters: A Love StoryGoran DukićAdam Sherman, Chris Coen, Tatiana Kelly and Mikal P. Lazarev
2007 The Lookout Scott Frank Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark and Walter F. Parkes
2 Days in ParisJulie DelpyChristophe Mazodier and Thierry Potok
Great World of SoundCraig ZobelCraig Zobel, Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green and Richard A. Wright
Rocket ScienceJeffrey BlitzEffie Brown and Sean Welch
VanajaRajnesh DomalpalliLatha R. Domalapalli
2008 Synecdoche, New York Charlie Kaufman Charlie Kaufman, Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze and Sidney Kimmel
AfterschoolAntonio CamposT. Sean Durkin and Josh Mond
Medicine for MelancholyBarry JenkinsJustin Barber
Sangre de Mi SangreChristopher ZallaPer Melita and Ben Odell
Sleep DealerAlex RiveraAnthony Bregman
2009 Crazy Heart Scott Cooper Scott Cooper, Robert Duvall, Rob Carliner, Judy Cairo and T-Bone Burnett
Easier with PracticeKyle Patrick AlvarezCookie Carosella
The MessengerOren MovermanMark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee and Zach Miller
Paranormal ActivityOren PeliOren Peli and Jason Blum
A Single ManTom FordTom Ford, Chris Weitz, Andrew Miano and Robert Salerno

2010s

Year Winner Director(s) Producer(s)
2010 Get Low Aaron Schneider Dean Zanuck and David Gundlach
Everything Strange and NewFrazer BradshawLaura Techera Francia and A.D. Liano
The Last ExorcismDaniel StammEric Newman, Eli Roth, Marc Abraham and Thomas A. Bliss
Night Catches UsTanya HamiltonRonald Simon, Sean Costello and Jason Orans
Tiny FurnitureLena DunhamKyle Martin and Alicia Van Couvering
2011 Margin Call J. C. Chandor Joe Jenckes, Robert Ogden Barnum, Corey Moosa, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson and Zachary Quinto
Another EarthMike CahillHunter Gray, Mike Cahill, Brit Marling and Nicholas Shumaker
In the FamilyPatrick WangPatrick Wang, Andrew van den Houten and Robert Tonino
Martha Marcy May MarleneSean DurkinJosh Mond, Antonio Campos, Chris Maybach and Patrick Cunningham
Natural SelectionRobbie PickeringBrion Hambell and Paul Jensen
2012 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith and John Malkovich
Fill the VoidRama BurshteinAssaf Amir
Gimme the LootAdam LeonNatalie Difford, Dominic Buchanan and Jamund Washington
Safety Not GuaranteedColin TrevorrowMarc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, Stephanie Langhoff, Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow
Sound of My VoiceZal BatmanglijHans Ritter, Brit Marling and Shelley Surpin
2013 Fruitvale Station Ryan Coogler Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker
Blue CapriceAlexandre MoorsIsen Robbins, Aimee Schoof, Ron Simons, Stephen Tedeschi, Brian O'Connell, Kim Jackson and Will Rowbotham
ConcussionStacie PassonCliff Chenfeld, Anthony Cupo and Rose Troche
Una NocheLucy MulloyDaniel Mulloy, Lucy Mulloy, Maite Artieda and Sandy Perez Aguila
WadjdaHaifaa al-MansourGerhard Meixner and Roman Paul
2014 Nightcrawler Dan Gilroy Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Michel Litvak, Jake Gyllenhaal and David Lancaster
Dear White PeopleJustin SimienEffie Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Justin Simien and Lena Waithe
A Girl Walks Home Alone at NightAna Lily AmirpourJustin Begnaud and Sina Sayyah
Obvious ChildGillian RobespierreElisabeth Holm
She's Lost ControlAnja MarquardtAnja Marquardt, Mollye Asher and Kiara C. Jones
2015 The Diary of a Teenage Girl Marielle Heller Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, and Madeline Samit
James WhiteJosh MondMax Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, and Eric Schultz
Manos SuciasJosef Kubota WladykaElena Greenlee and Márcia Nunes
MediterraneaJonas CarpignanoJason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, and Ryan Zacarias
Songs My Brother Taught MeChloé ZhaoChloé Zhao, Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, and Forest Whitaker
2016
[2][3]
The Witch Robert Eggers Robert Eggers, Daniel Bekerman, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Jodi Redmond, and Rodrigo Teixeira
The Childhood of a LeaderBrady CorbetAntoine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Chris Coen, Ron Curtis, Helena Danielsson, Mona Fastvold, and István Major
The FitsAnna Rose HolmerAnna Rose Holmer and Lisa Kjerulff
Other PeopleChris KellySam Bisbee, Adam Scott, and Naomi Scott
Swiss Army ManDaniel Scheinert and Daniel KwanMiranda Bailey, Lawrence Inglee, Lauren Mann, Amanda Marshall, Eyal Rimmon, and Jonathan Wang
2017
[4]
Ingrid Goes West Matt Spicer Jared Goldman, Adam Mirels, Robert Mirels, Aubrey Plaza, Tim White, and Trevor White
ColumbusKogonadaDanielle Renfrew Behrens, Aaron Boyd, Giulia Caruso, Ki Jin Kim, Andrew Miano, and Chris Weitz
MenasheJoshua Z. WeinsteinYoni Brook, Traci Carlson, Daniel Finkelman, and Alex Lipschultz
Oh Lucy!Atsuko HirayanagiJessica Elbaum, Yukie Kito, and Han West
Patti Cake$Geremy JasperChris Columbus, Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Noah Stahl, and Rodrigo Teixeira
2018 Sorry to Bother You Boots Riley Nina Yang Bongiovi, Kelly Williams, Jonathan Duffy, Charles D. King, George Rush, and Forest Whitaker
HereditaryAri AsterKevin Frakes, Lars Knudsen, and Buddy Patrick
The TaleJennifer FoxJennifer Fox, Oren Moverman, Laura Rister, Mynette Louie, Simone Pero, Lawrence Inglee, Sol Bondy, Regina K. Scully, Lynda Weinman, and Reka Posta
We the AnimalsJeremiah ZagerJeremy Yaches, Christina D. King, Andrew Goldman, and Paul Mezey
WildlifePaul DanoOren Moverman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker, Ann Ruark, Alex Saks, Andrew Duncan, and Paul Dano
2019
[5]
Booksmart Olivia Wilde Megan Ellison, Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfield, Jessica Elbaum, Katie Silberman
The ClimbMichael Angelo CovinoMichael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, and Noah Lang
DianeKent JonesLuca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, and Oren Moverman
The Last Black Man in San FranciscoJoe TalbotKhaliah Neal, Joe Talbot, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Christina Oh
The MustangLaure de Clermont-TonnerreAlain Goldman
See You YesterdayStefon BristolSpike Lee

2020s

Year Nominees Director(s) Producer(s)
2020 The 40-Year-Old VersionRadha BlankLena Waithe, Jordan Fudge, Radha Blank, Inuka Bacote-Capiga, Jennifer Semler and Rishi Rajani
I Carry You With MeHeidi EwingHeidi Ewing, Mynette Louie, Gabriela Maire and Edher Campos
Miss JuneteenthChanning Godfrey PeoplesToby Halbrooks, Tim Headington, Jeanie Igoe, James M. Johnston, Theresa Page and Neil Creque Williams
Nine DaysEdson OdaJason Michael Berman, Mette-Marie Kongsved, Matthew Linder, Laura Tunstall and Datari Turner
Sound of MetalDarius MarderBert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Bill Benz and Kathy Benz

References

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