30th Independent Spirit Awards

The 2014 Independent Spirit Awards announced its nominees on November 30, 2014. The winners were announced on February 21, 2015.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and in bold.

Best Feature

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

• Boyhood
• Love Is Strange
• Selma
• Whiplash

Best First Feature

Nightcrawler

• Dear White People
• A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
• Obvious Child
• She's Lost Control

John Cassavetes Award

Land Ho!

• Blue Ruin
• It Felt Like Love
• Man From Reno
• Test

Best Male Lead

Michael Keaton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

• André 3000 – Jimi: All Is by My Side
• Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
• John Lithgow – Love Is Strange
• David Oyelowo – Selma

Best Female Lead

Julianne Moore – Still Alice

• Marion Cotillard – The Immigrant
• Rinko Kikuchi – Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
• Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
• Tilda Swinton – Only Lovers Left Alive

Best Supporting Male

J. K. Simmons – Whiplash

• Riz Ahmed – Nightcrawler
• Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
• Alfred Molina – Love Is Strange
• Edward Norton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Supporting Female

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

• Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
• Carmen Ejogo – Selma
• Andrea Suarez Paz – Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
• Emma Stone – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Director

Richard Linklater – Boyhood

• Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
• Ava DuVernay – Selma
• Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• David Zellner – Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

Best Screenplay

Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler

• Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski – Big Eyes
• J. C. Chandor – A Most Violent Year
• Jim Jarmusch – Only Lovers Left Alive
• Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias – Love Is Strange

Best First Screenplay

Justin Simien – Dear White People

• Desiree Akhavan – Appropriate Behavior
• Sara Colangelo – Little Accidents
• Justin Lader – The One I Love
• Anja Marquardt – She's Lost Control

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

• Darius Khondji – The Immigrant
• Sean Porter – It Felt Like Love
• Lyle Vincent – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
• Bradford Young – Selma

Best Editing

Tom Cross – Whiplash

• Sandra Adair – Boyhood
• John Gilroy – Nightcrawler
• Ron Patane – A Most Violent Year
• Adam Wingard – The Guest

Best International Film

Ida (Poland) – Paweł Pawlikowski

• Force Majeure (Sweden) – Ruben Östlund
• Leviathan (Russia) – Andrey Zvyagintsev
• Mommy (Canada) – Xavier Dolan
• Norte, the End of History (Philippines) – Lav Diaz
• Under the Skin (United Kingdom) – Jonathan Glazer

Best Documentary

Citizenfour – Laura Poitras

• 20,000 Days on Earth – Ian Forsyth and Jane Pollard
• Stray Dog – Debra Granik
• The Salt of the Earth – Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders
• Virunga – Orlando von Einsiedel

Robert Altman Award

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

• Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson

Special Distinction Award

• Foxcatcher – Bennett Miller, Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik, E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum