Sideways Full of Spirit

February 26, 2005

Sideways swept the 20th annual Independent Spirit Awards winning all six categories it was nominated for.

The winners are:

Best Features

• Sideways

Best Director

• Alexander Payne for Sideways

Best Actress

• Catalina Sandino Moreno in for Maria Full of Grace

Best Actor

• Paul Giamatti in Sideways

Best Supporting Actor

• Thomas Haden Church in Sideways

Best Supporting Actress

• Virginia Madsen in Sideways

Best Screenplay

• Sideways

Best First Feature

• Garden State

Best First Screenplay

• Maria Full of Grace

Best Debut Performance

• Rodrigo de la Serna in The Motorcycle Diaries

Cinematography

• The Motorcycle Diaries

Foreign Film

• The Sea Inside - Spain

Documentary

• Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

Special Distinction - "performances so uniformly unselfish ... it became impossible to single any one of them out from their extraordinary achievement together."
Mean Creek - Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan, Josh Peck and Carly Schroeder, ensemble cast.

John Cassavetes Award - Best feature made for under $500,000

• Mean Creek

Someone to Watch Award

• Jem Cohen - director of Chain

Truer Than Fiction Award

• Born Into Brothels

Producers Award

• Gina Kwon - The Good Girl & Me, You and Everyone We Know

Initial reactions:

• Sideways sweeps all six categories it was nominated it. Obviously that’s the biggest story of the night. Hopefully it can do half as well at the Oscars tomorrow.
• Three other films took home multiple awards with Maria Full of Grace, Mean Creek and The Motorcycle Diaries each taking home two awards.
• One of Mean Creek's two awards was a special distinction award for best ensemble cast, perhaps next year it will be a regular category.
• Filmmaker awards will be handed out February 26th to directors Mike Leigh and Michael Moore, actor Don Cheadle, Dan Talbot and the creative team behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Submitted by: C.S.Strowbridge

Source: Independent Spirit Awards

Filed under: Sideways, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Garden State, The Motorcycle Diaries, Maria Full of Grace, Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids, Mar adentro, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Mean Creek