The 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films of 2015, were presented by Film Independent on February 27, 2016. The nominations were announced on November 24, 2015. The ceremony was hosted by

Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022, where she became known for her character work and celebrity im ...

and

Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ; Urdu: کمیل علی نانجیانی; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-writi ...

, and broadcast live on IFC.

Winners and nominees

Films with multiple nominations and awards

Special awards

John Cassavetes Award The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1,000,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named aft ...

Krisha ''Krisha'' is a 2015 American psychological drama film written, directed and edited by Trey Edward Shults in his feature-length List of directorial debuts, directorial debut, starring his real-life aunt Krisha Fairchild, and is the feature-lengt ...

'' * ''

Advantageous ''Advantageous'' is a 2015 American science fiction drama film starring Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, and Samantha Kim. The film was released exclusively on Netflix on June 23, 2015. Plot Set in the near ...

'' * ''

Christmas, Again ''Christmas, Again'' is a 2014 drama film written, directed, and produced by Charles Poekel. The film features Kentucker Audley in the lead role as a Christmas-tree salesman returning to New York City. The film had its premiere at the 2014 Loca ...

'' * ''

Heaven Knows What ''Heaven Knows What'' is a 2014 psychological drama film directed by Ben and Joshua Safdie and written by Ronald Bronstein and Joshua Safdie. The film stars Arielle Holmes, Buddy Duress, Ron Braunstein, Eleonore Hendricks, Caleb Landry J ...

'' * '' Out of My Hand''

Robert Altman Award

(The award is given to its film director, casting director, and ensemble cast) * ''

Spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot light, an articulating automotive auxiliary lamp * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, ent ...

'' – Tom McCarthy, Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee, Michael Cyril Creighton,

Billy Crudup William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his performance in '' Jesus' Son'' (1999). He went on to star in numerous high-profile films, including ...

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American character actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He returned for ...

Neal Huff Neal Huff is an American actor from New York City. In April 2018, he performed as Willie Oban in the Broadway revival of '' The Iceman Cometh''. In December 2018, Huff began performing in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', adapted for stage by Aaron S ...

Brian d'Arcy James Brian d'Arcy James (born June 29, 1968) is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in '' Shrek the Musical'', Nick Bottom in '' Something Rotten!'', King George III in '' Hamilton'', and T ...

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...

Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from York University in 2001 with a BFA in theatre, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film '' Perfect Pie'' (2002), ...

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1980s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan's play ''This Is Our Youth'' (1996) and drama film ''You Can Count on Me'' (2000) ...

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber ( ; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award as well as nominations for nine Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. Schreiber's early film roles incl ...

Jamey Sheridan James Patrick Sheridan (born July 12, 1951) is an American actor known for playing a wide range of roles in theater, film, and television. He is known for Randall Flagg in ''The Stand'' (1994), Captain James Deakins on ''Law & Order: Criminal I ...

John Slattery John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Roger Sterling in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated 4 times for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outsta ...

, and

Stanley Tucci Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor. Known as a character actor, he has played a wide variety of roles ranging from menacing to sophisticated, earning numerous accolades, including six Emmy Awards and two Golden ...

Kiehl's Someone to Watch Award

Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by

Kiehl's Kiehl's LLC is an American cosmetics brand retailer that specializes in skin, hair, and body care products. It started as a single pharmacy in Manhattan at Third Avenue and List of numbered streets in Manhattan#10th to 13th Streets, East 13th Str ...

since 1851. * Felix Thompson – ''

King Jack ''King Jack'' is a 2015 American coming-of-age adventure drama film written and directed by Felix Thompson in his directorial debut. The film stars Charlie Plummer, Cory Nichols, Christian Madsen, Daniel Flaherty, Erin Davie and Chloe Levine, ...

'' ** Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck – ''God Bless the Child'' **

Chloé Zhao Chloé Zhao (born Zhao Ting; 31 March 1982) is a Chinese-born filmmaker. She is known primarily for her work on independent films. Zhao is the second of three women to win the Academy Award for Best Director for her film Nomadland. '' Songs ...

– ''

Songs My Brothers Taught Me ''Songs My Brothers Taught Me'' is a 2015 American drama film, written and directed by Chloé Zhao in her directorial debut. Developed at the Sundance Institute workshops, the film, set in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, explo ...

Piaget Producers Award

Honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by

Piaget Piaget () may refer to: People with the surname * Édouard Piaget (18171910), Swiss entomologist * Jean Piaget (18961980), Swiss developmental psychologist * Paul Piaget (disambiguation), several people * Solange Piaget Knowles (born 1986), Ameri ...

. *

Mel Eslyn Mel Eslyn (born August 19, 1983) is an American film producer, director and writer. She works primarily in the Seattle independent film industry and has collaborated with Lynn Shelton and Mark Duplass, Mark and Jay Duplass on numerous films. She ...

– '' Lamb'' ** Darren Dean – ''

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

'' ** Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith – ''

It Follows ''It Follows'' is a 2014 horror film written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. It stars Maika Monroe as a young woman who is pursued by a seemingly supernatural entity. Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, and L ...

'' and '' I'll See You in My Dreams''

Truer than Fiction Award

Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters. *

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi ( ; born ) is an American documentary filmmaker. She was the director, along with her husband, Jimmy Chin, for the film ''Free Solo'', which won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film profiled Ale ...

– ''Incorruptible'' ** Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti – '' A Woman Like Me'' ** Hemal Trivedi and

Mohammed Ali Naqvi Mohammed Ali Naqvi (; born 1979) is a Pakistani filmmaker based in New York City. He is known for documentaries which shed light on the socio political conditions of Pakistan, and feature strong characters on personal journeys of self-discovery. N ...

– '' Among the Believers''

References

External links

* {{IS Awards Chron

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...