(March 4, 2006) 2006 Independent Spirit Awards Winners Announced
LOS ANGELES, CA (March 4, 2006) -- The hit independent films Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash and Transamerica split the big prizes equally at Film Independent’s 2006 Independent Spirit Awards, making the annual event honoring the best in independent cinema into a celebration of the diversity of the films which captured the public’s attention this year. The 2006 Independent Spirit Awards, were held Saturday, March 4, at a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The Spirit Awards is a celebration honoring films made by filmmakers who embody independence and who dare to challenge the status quo. This annual event, which began as a small grassroots program, has grown into one of the most anticipated events of the film year. This year's major category winners were Focus Features' Brokeback Mountain, which won Best Feature and Best Director (Ang Lee); Lionsgate’s Crash, which won Best First Feature and Best Supporting Male (Matt Dillon); Sony Pictures Classics' Capote which won Best Screenplay (Dan Futterman) and Best Male Lead (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and The Weinstein Company’s Transamerica, taking Best First Screenplay (Duncan Tucker) and Best Female Lead (Felicity Huffman).

This year's ceremony was sponsored by Premier Sponsors IFC, Entertainment Weekly, Netflix and Pop Secret; and by Principal Sponsors Acura, American Express, L’Oreal Paris, and Dockers San Francisco. On 3 Productions produced the Official 2006 Independent Spirit Awards General Attendee Gift Bag and Presenter Gift Lounge. The Casa Del Mar, Sheraton Delfina, Shutters on the Beach, and Viceroy, were the Official Host Hotels. WireImage is the Official Photographer of the Independent Spirit Awards. American Airlines is the Official Airline Partner of Film Independent. The ceremony aired live on IFC (Independent Film Channel), beginning at 5:00 pm EST, and was preceded by an exclusive half-hour red carpet show on WE: Women’s Entertainment at 4:30 pm. An edited re-broadcast will air later this evening on AMC at 10:00 pm EST/PST. Diana Zahn-Storey produced the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards for the twelfth year.

The following is a complete list of the winners:
Best Feature
Brokeback Mountain
Producers: Diana Ossana and James Schamus

Best Director
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain

Best Screenplay
Dan Futterman, Capote

Best First Feature
Crash
Director: Paul Haggis
Producers: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis

Best First Screenplay
Duncan Tucker, Transamerica

John Cassavetes Award (For the Best Feature made for under $500,000)
Conventioneers
Director: Mora Stephens
Writers: Mora Stephens and Joel Viertel
Producer: Joel Viertel

Best Supporting Female
Amy Adams, Junebug

Best Supporting Male
Matt Dillon, Crash

Best Female Lead
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica

Best Male Lead
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote

Best Cinematography
Robert Elswit, Good Night, and Good Luck.

Best Foreign Film
Paradise Now
Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Best Documentary
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Director: Alex Gibney

Caroline Baron, producer of Capote and Monsoon Wedding, received the ninth annual AMC/American Express Producers Award, which honors producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films. The winner of the Producers Award received an unrestricted grant of $25,000 funded by AMC and American Express. Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana, directors of Cavite, won the twelfth annual IFC/Acura Someone To Watch Award, a $25,000 grant created to honor a director of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award is funded by IFC and Acura. Ian Olds and the late Garrett Scott, directors of Occupation: Dreamland, won the tenth annual Truer Than Fiction Award, presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features. The award is accompanied by a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Film Independent.

2006 INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS BY DISTRIBUTOR

CINEMA LIBRE STUDIO 1
FOCUS FEATURES 2
LIONSGATE 2
MAGNOLIA 1
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS 3
WARNER INDEPENDENT PICTURES 2
THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY 2

Attendees joining host Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent, were Master of Ceremonies Sarah Silver, Honorary Chair Naomi Watts. Music was by The Crystal Method Presenters included Billy Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Julie Delpy, Zooey Deschanel, Matt Dillon, Vin Diesel, Michael Ealy, Aaron Eckhart, Peter Gallagher, Macy Gray, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Terrence Howard, Richard Kind, Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Laura Linney, Josh Lucas, Virginia Madsen, Sienna Miller, Alessandro Nivola, Sandra Oh, Rosie Perez, Jeremy Piven, Dennis Quaid, Henry Rollins, Peter Sarsgaard, Kevin Smith, Lili Taylor, Naomi Watts, Dwight Yoakam, and Ziyi Zhang.

Celebrity guests and nominees included Amy Adams, Sohreh Aghdashloo, Amy Brenneman, George Clooney, Judah Friedlander, Rodrigo Garcia, Carson Kressley, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Felicity Huffman, Allison Janney, Paul Haggis, Werner Hertzog, Catherine Keener, Heath Ledger, Ang Lee, Jason Lee, Ludacris, Debi Mazar, S. Epatha Merkerson, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Alexander Payne, Elizabeth Pena, Robin Wright Penn, Sean Penn, Barry Pepper, Bobby Shriver, Molly Sims, John Singleton, David Strathairn, Larenz Tate, Michelle Trachtenberg, Michelle Williams, Jeffrey Wright, and many, many more...

About the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards

Hosted annually on the Saturday before the Oscars, Film Independent's Independent Spirit Awards honor films and filmmakers who embody independence and challenge the status quo. Televised in millions of homes and covered internationally by the press, the Independent Spirit Awards program has become the vanguard event in independent film, recognizing the achievements of independent filmmakers and promoting independent film to a wider audience. The Independent Spirit Awards nominees are chosen on the basis of original, provocative subject matter; uniqueness of vision; economy of means, with particular attention paid to total budget and individual compensation; and percentage of independent financing.

In order to be eligible for consideration, submitted films must have shown at a commercial theater during the 2005 calendar year or have played at one of the following six film festivals: Los Angeles Film Festival, New York, Sundance, Telluride, Toronto or New Directors/New Films.

Awards are given in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best Foreign Film, and Best Documentary.

This year's nominees for Best Feature were Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck., The Squid and the Whale, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Best First Feature nominees were Crash, Lackawana Blues, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Thumbsucker, and Transamerica.

Film Independent, the largest non-profit membership organization for independent filmmakers, cultivates the careers of independent filmmakers, builds the audience for independent films, and increases diversity in the film industry. Film Independent provides its members with more than 250 annual events and screenings, along with professional advice, educational programs, affordable camera and equipment rentals, and discounts to hundreds of industry-related businesses.

Film Independent also offers Filmmaker Labs, giving filmmakers the opportunity to develop their projects, and Project:Involve, a mentorship and job placement program that pairs filmmakers from culturally diverse communities with film industry professionals. Film Independent produces the Independent Spirit Awards and Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international independent cinema. For more information, visit www.FilmIndependent.org.