Independent Spirit Awards

 Juno, a quirky coming-of-age comedy about a pregnant teenager was named best feature film at yesterday’s Independent Spirit Awards which honor the best independent films.

Made on shoestring budget of $6.5 million, “Juno” was the only nominee for best picture to pass $100 million at the box office and has been embraced by supporters of independent films.

Juno also captured best female lead for the films star Ellen Page and best first screenplay for screenwriter Diablo Cody.

The best director nod went to filmmaker Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Scribe Tamara Jenkins won best screenplay award for The Savages, a tale of adult siblings caring for their aged father. Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays one of the siblings took home the award for best male lead.

Supporting male and female Spirit awards were given to Cate Blanchett, one of four actors playing Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes film I’m Not There, and Chiwetel Ejiofor for the film Talk To Me - a bio-pic about the life of former Washington dee-jay Petey Greene.

The best documentary prize went to Dan Klores’ film Crazy Love. The Someone to Watch Award was given to filmmaker Ramin Bahrani for his film “Chop Shop.”, while the best foreign film Spirit went to the Irish musical “Once” and Scott Frank took the award for best first feature for his film “The Lookout.”

The John Cassavetes Award which honors filmmaking on an extremely low budget went to “August Evening” and the best cinematography prize went to Director of Photography Janusz Kaminski for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

The Independent Spirit Awards, which consider themselves as more avant-garde than the Academy Awards were awarded yesterday in Santa Monica, California. To be eligible, a films budget must be less than $20 million to be considered.