The Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay is a prestigious film award that has been awarded to independent screenwriters since 1986.
The record holders for the number of victories are Alexander Payne (three), Jim Taylor and Gus Van Saint (two).
Content
Winners and Nominees
| Winners are highlighted in a separate color. |
1980s
| Ceremony | A photo laureate | Screenwriter | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| β’ Horton Foot | β Trip to the Bountiful β | ||
| β’ Joseph Minion | " After work " | ||
| β’ The Cohen Brothers | β Just blood β | ||
| β’ Tom Cole | β Nice conversation β | ||
| β’ Oliver Stone | " Platoon " | ||
| β’ David Lynch | " Blue Velvet " | ||
| β’ Shirley Sun , Peter Wang | The Great Wall | ||
| β’ Oliver Stone | Salvador | ||
| β’ Reynold Gideon , Bruce Evans | " Stay with me " | ||
| β’ Neil Jimenez | " On the banks of the river " | ||
| β’ Agnieszka Holland | " Anna " | ||
| β’ Tony Houston | The dead | ||
| β’ John Sales | Matuon | ||
| β’ Spaulding Gray | " Swim to Cambodia " | ||
| β’ Ramon Menendez , Tom Muska | β Stand and do β | ||
| β’ John Patrick Shanley | Five Corners | ||
| β’ John Waters | " Hairspray " | ||
| β’ Alan Rudolph | " Modernists " | ||
| β’ John Jenkins , Karen Landry , David Burton Morris , Chris Malki | Patty Rocks |
1990s
| Ceremony | A photo laureate | Screenwriter | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| β’ Gus Van Saint | " Pharmacy cowboy " | ||
| β’ Patrick Shin Duncan | Chronicles of the Vietnam War | ||
| β’ Daniel Waters | " Deadly Attraction " | ||
| β’ Steve De Jarnatt | Mile of Miracles | ||
| β’ Jim Jarmusch | Mysterious Train | ||
| β’ Charles Burnett | " Fall asleep in anger " | ||
| β’ Richard Fire , John McNaughton | Henry: Portrait of a Maniac Killer | ||
| β’ Whit Stillman | Golden Youth | ||
| β’ Michael Roemer | Conspiracy Against Harry | ||
| β’ Alan Moyle | β Cut it to the fullest β | ||
| β’ Gus Van Saint | " My Personal Idaho " | ||
| β’ Joseph B. Vazquez | " Hanging out with my own " | ||
| β’ Lem Dobbs | Kafka | ||
| β’ Floyd Byars , Fridtjof Capra | " Dispute " | ||
| β’ Michael Tolkien | Ascension | ||
| β’ Neil Jimenez | " Dance on the water " | ||
| β’ Allison Anders | β Gasoline, food, housing β | ||
| β’ Paul Schroeder | " Sensitive dream " | ||
| β’ Keith Gordon | " Night lights out " | ||
| β’ Billy Bob Thornton , Tom Epperson | " One wrong move " | ||
| β’ Robert Altman , Frank Barheidt | β Short stories β | ||
| β’ Edwin Baker , Tony Chan | " Assorted Chinese " | ||
| β’ Nancy Savoka , Richard Gue | Home Saints | ||
| β’ Victor Nunez | " Rub in Paradise " | ||
| β’ Ang Lee , Neil Pang , James Shamus | " Wedding Banquet " | ||
| β’ Quentin Tarantino , Roger Avery | " Pulp Fiction " | ||
| β’ Woody Allen | " Bullets over Broadway " | ||
| β’ Ang Lee , Huy-Ling Wang , James Shamus | β Eat, drink, man, woman β | ||
| β’ Alan Rudolph , Randy Sue Coburn | Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle | ||
| β’ John Dahl , Rick Dahl | " West of the Red Rock " | ||
| β’ Christopher McQuarrie | " Suspicious faces " | ||
| β’ Mike Figgis | " Leaving Las Vegas " | ||
| β’ Tom Dichillo | " Life in Oblivion " | ||
| β’ Todd Haines | " Security " | ||
| β’ John Sales | β The Secret of Roan Inish Island β | ||
| β’ The Cohen Brothers | Fargo | ||
| β’ Jim Jarmusch | " Dead " | ||
| β’ David O. Russell | " Do not wake a sleeping dog " | ||
| β’ Nicholas Saint John | " Funeral " | ||
| β’ John Sales | " Star of the Sheriff " | ||
| β’ Kevin Smith | β Chasing Amy β | ||
| β’ Robert Duvall | The Apostle | ||
| β’ Paul Schroeder | Touch | ||
| β’ Victor Nunez | " Gold Uli " | ||
| β’ Christopher Guest , Eugene Levy | " Waiting for Guffman " | ||
| β’ Don Rus | β The opposite of sex β | ||
| β’ Paul Schroeder | Sorrow | ||
| β’ Frank Militeri | Blind Faith | ||
| β’ Bill Condon | " Gods and monsters " | ||
| β’ David Mamet | " Spanish prisoner " |
2000s
| Ceremony | A photo laureate | Screenwriter | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| β’ Alexander Payne , Jim Taylor | Upstart | ||
| β’ Kevin Smith | Dogma | ||
| β’ Audrey Wells | " Lessons of love " | ||
| β’ Lem Dobbs | " Englishman " | ||
| β’ James Merendino | Punk from Salt Lake City | ||
| β’ Kenneth Lonergan | β You can count on me β | ||
| β’ Mike White | " Chuck and Buck " | ||
| β’ Valerie Breiman | " Love and sex " | ||
| β’ Raymond De Felitt | " House of two families " | ||
| β’ Robert Dillon | Awakening the Dead | ||
| β’ Christopher Nolan | β Remember β | ||
| β’ Henry Bean | Fanatic | ||
| β’ Robert Festinger , Todd Field | " In the bedroom " | ||
| β’ Milo Addika , Will Rocos | " Monster Ball " | ||
| β’ Richard Linklater | Awakening of life | ||
| β’ Mike White | " Good girl " | ||
| β’ Nicole Holofsener | β Charming and attractive β | ||
| β’ Dylan Kidd | β Favorite of women β | ||
| β’ Jill Sprecher , Karen Sprecher | β 13 talk about one thing β | ||
| β’ Hilary Birmingham , Matt Drake | Tally | ||
| β’ Sofia Coppola | β Translation Difficulties β | ||
| β’ Shari Springer Berman , Robert Pulcini | American Splendor | ||
| β’ Christopher Guest , Eugene Levy | "The mighty wind " | ||
| β’ Peter Hedges | April Holiday | ||
| β’ Billy Ray | " Steven Glass Scam " | ||
| β’ Alexander Payne , Jim Taylor | " On the sidelines " | ||
| β’ Mario Van Peebles , Dennis Haggerty | " Bastard " | ||
| β’ Richard Linklater , Julie Delpy , Ethan Hawke | " Before sunset " | ||
| β’ Todd Williams | " The door to the floor " | ||
| β’ Bill Condon | Kinsey | ||
| β’ Dan Fatterman | β Capote β | ||
| β’ Rodrigo Garcia | Nine Lives | ||
| β’ Noah Baumbach | " Squid and whale " | ||
| β’ Guillermo Arriaga | " Three graves " | ||
| β’ Ayad Akhtar , Joseph Castello , Tom Glynn | " Through the mountains " | ||
| β’ Jason Wrightman | β They smoke here β | ||
| β’ Nicole Holofsener | β Rely on friends β | ||
| β’ Neil Burger | " Illusionist " | ||
| β’ Ron Nisuoner | " Painted Veil " | ||
| β’ Jeff Stanzler | " Sorry, haters. " | ||
| β’ Tamara Jenkins | " Savages " | ||
| β’ Ronald Harwood | " Diving suit and butterfly " | ||
| β’ Fred Parnes , Andrew Wagner | " Starting in the evening " | ||
| β’ Adrianne Shelley | Waitress | ||
| β’ Mike White | " Year of the dog " | ||
| β’ Woody Allen | Vicky Cristina Barcelona | ||
| β’ Christopher Zalla | " Dear Father " | ||
| β’ Howard A. Rodman | Wild Grace | ||
| β’ Anna Boden , Ryan Fleck | Sugar | ||
| β’ Charlie Kaufman | " New York, New York " |
2010s
| Ceremony | A photo laureate | Screenwriter | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| β’ Scott Neustadter , Michael H. Weber | " 500 days of summer " | ||
| β’ Greg Mottola | " Park of culture and rest " | ||
| β’ Michael Hoffman | Last Sunday | ||
| β’ Oren Moverman , Alessandro Camon | " Messenger " | ||
| β’ Lee Toland Krieger | " Evil type " | ||
| β’ Lisa Kholodenko , Stuart Bloomberg | " Kids are fine " | ||
| β’ Todd Solondz | " Life in times of war " | ||
| β’ Nicole Holofsener | " Unnecessary things " | ||
| β’ David Lindsey-Eber , Alessandro Camon | " Rabbit hole " | ||
| β’ Debra Granik , Anne Rosellini | " Winter bone " | ||
| β’ Alexander Payne , Nat Faxon , Jim Rush | " Descendants " | ||
| β’ Michel Hazanavicius | " Artist " | ||
| β’ Mike Mills | Beginners | ||
| β’ Yosef Sidar | Footnote | ||
| β’ Thomas McCarthy | β Win! " | ||
| β’ David O. Russell | " My boyfriend is crazy " | ||
| β’ Ira Sachs , Maurizio Zacharias | β While the lights are on β | ||
| β’ Wes Anderson , Roman Coppola | Kingdom of the Full Moon | ||
| β’ Zoe Kazan | Ruby Sparks | ||
| β’ Martin McDonagh | " Seven Psychopaths " | ||
| β’ John Ridley | " 12 years of slavery " | ||
| β’ Julie Delpy , Ethan Hawke , Richard Linklater | " Before midnight " | ||
| β’ Woody Allen | Jasmine | ||
| β’ Nicole Holofsener | β Enough words β | ||
| β’ Scott Neustadter , Michael H. Weber | Exciting time | ||
| β’ Dan Gilroy | Stringer | ||
| β’ Scott Alexander and Larry Karashevsky | " Big eyes " | ||
| β’ Ira Sachs , Maurizio Zacharias | β Love is a strange thing β | ||
| β’ JC Chandor | " The most cruel year " | ||
| β’ Jim Jarmusch | β Only lovers will survive β | ||
| β’ Tom McCarthy , Josh Singer | " In the spotlight " | ||
| β’ Charlie Kaufman | Anomalysis | ||
| β’ S. Craig Sailer | Bone Tomahawk | ||
| β’ Phyllis Nagi | Carol | ||
| β’ Donald Margulis | " End of the tour " | ||
| β’ Barry Jenkins , Tharell Alvin McCraney | Moonlight | ||
| β’ Mike Mills | " Women of the XX century " | ||
| β’ Taylor Sheridan | β At any cost β | ||
| β’ Ira Sachs , Maurizio Zacharias | " Little men " | ||
| β’ Kenneth Lonergan | Manchester by the Sea | ||
| β’ Greta Herwig | Lady Bird | ||
| β’ Mike White | Beatrice at dinner | ||
| β’ Jordan Peel | Away | ||
| β’ Azazel Jacobs | " Lovers " | ||
| β’ Martin McDonagh | β Three billboards on the border of Ebbing, Missouri β | ||
| β’ Nicole Holofsener , Jeff Whitty | β Can you forgive me? " | ||
| β’ Richard Glazer , Rebecca Lenkiewicz , Wash Westmolend | Colette | ||
| β’ Paul Schroeder | The Shepherd βs Diary | ||
| β’ Tamara Jenkins | " Private life " | ||
| β’ Riley Boots | " Sorry to bother you " |