Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay

The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay is one of the annual awards given by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers.

Wins and nominations

1990s

1994

• David O. Russell for Spanking the Monkey
• Paul Zehrer for Blessing
• Kevin Smith for Clerks
• James Bosley for Fun
• Tom Noonan for What Happened Was

1995

• Paul Auster for Smoke
• Harmony Korine for Kids
• James Gray for Little Odessa
• Steve McLean for Postcards from America
• Kelly Reichardt for River of Grass

1996

• Joseph Tropiano and Stanley Tucci for Big Night
• Suzan-Lori Parks for Girl 6
• Lisa Krueger for Manny & Lo
• Michael Scott Myers for The Whole Wide World
• Steve Buscemi for Trees Lounge

1997

• Neil LaBute for In the Company of Men
• Steven Schwartz for Critical Care
• Paul Thomas Anderson for Hard Eight
• Miguel Arteta for Star Maps
• Daniel Harris for The Bible and Gun Club

1998

• Darren Aronofsky for Pi
• Lisa Cholodenko for High Art
• Matthew Weiss for Niagara, Niagara
• Tamara Jenkins for Slums of Beverly Hills
• Sherman Alexie for Smoke Signals

1999

• Charlie Kaufman for Being John Malkovich≈
• Kimberly Peirce and Andy Bienen for Boys Don't Cry
• Anne Rapp for Cookie's Fortune
• Tod Williams for The Adventures of Sebastian Cole
• John Roach and Mary Sweeney for The Straight Story

2000s

2000

• Gina Prince-Bythewood for Love & Basketball
• Ben Younger for Boiler Room
• David Gordon Green for George Washington
• Jordan Walker-Pearlman for The Visit
• Ross Klavan and Michael McGruther for Tigerland

2001

• Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff for Ghost World≈
• Richard Kelly for Donnie Darko
• John Cameron Mitchell for Hedwig and the Angry Inch
• Stephen M. Ryder, Michael Cuesta and Gerald Cuesta for L.I.E.
• Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming for The Anniversary Party

2002

• Erin Cressida Wilson for Secretary
• Laura Cahill for Hysterical Blindness
• Burr Steers for Igby Goes Down
• Neil Burger for Interview with the Assassin
• Heather Juergensen and Jennifer Westfeldt for Kissing Jessica Stein

2003

• Tom McCarthy for The Station Agent
• Karen Moncrieff for Blue Car
• Patty Jenkins for Monster
• Peter Sollett and Eva Vives for Raising Victor Vargas
• Catherine Hardwicke and Nikki Reed for Thirteen

2004

• Joshua Marston for Maria Full of Grace
• Rodney Evans for Brother to Brother
• Zach Braff for Garden State
• Shane Carruth for Primer
• Mario de la Vega for Robbing Peter

2005

• Duncan Tucker for Transamerica
• Kenneth Hanes for Fixing Frank
• Angus MacLachlan for Junebug
• Miranda July for Me and You and Everyone We Know
• Sabina Murray for The Beautiful Country

2006

• Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine≠
• Dito Montiel for A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
• Gabrielle Zevin for Conversations with Other Women
• Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden for Half Nelson
• Goran Dukić for Wristcutters: A Love Story

2007

• Diablo Cody for Juno≠
• Jeffrey Blitz for Rocket Science
• Zoe Cassavetes for Broken English
• Kelly Masterson for Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
• John Orloff for A Mighty Heart

2008

• Dustin Lance Black for Milk≠
• Lance Hammer for Ballast
• Courtney Hunt for Frozen River≈
• Jonathan Levine for The Wackness
• Jenny Lumet for Rachel Getting Married

2009

• Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious≠
• Sophie Barthes for Cold Souls
• Scott Cooper for Crazy Heart
• Cherien Dabis for Amreeka
• Tom Ford and David Scearce for A Single Man

2010s

2010

• Lena Dunham for Tiny Furniture
• Robert Glaudini for Jack Goes Boating
• Nik Fackler for Lovely, Still
• Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener for Monogamy
• Diane Bell for Obselidia

2011

• Will Reiser for 50/50
• Mike Cahill and Brit Marling for Another Earth
• J. C. Chandor for Margin Call≈
• Patrick deWitt for Terri
• Phil Johnston for Cedar Rapids

2012

• Derek Connolly for Safety Not Guaranteed
• Rama Burshtein for Fill the Void
• Christopher D. Ford for Robot & Frank
• Rashida Jones and Will McCormack for Celeste and Jesse Forever
• Jonathan Lisecki for Gayby

2013

• Bob Nelson for Nebraska≈
• Lake Bell for In a World...
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Don Jon
• Jill Soloway for Afternoon Delight
• Michael Starrbury for The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

2014

• Justin Simien for Dear White People
• Desiree Akhavan for Appropriate Behavior
• Sara Colangelo for Little Accidents
• Justin Lader for The One I Love
• Anja Marquardt for She's Lost Control

2015

• Emma Donoghue for Room≈
• Jesse Andrews for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
• Jonas Carpignano for Mediterranea
• Marielle Heller for The Diary of a Teenage Girl
• John Magary; Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph (story by) for The Mend

2016

• Robert Eggers for The Witch
• Chris Kelly for Other People
• Adam Mansbach for Barry
• Stella Meghie for Jean of the Joneses
• Craig Shilowich for Christine

2017

• Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani for The Big Sick≈
• Kris Avedisian, Kyle Espeleta (story by), and Jesse Wakeman (story by) for Donald Cried
• Ingrid Jungermann for Women Who Kill
• Kogonada for Columbus
• David Smith & Matt Spicer for Ingrid Goes West

2018

• Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade
• Christina Choe for Nancy
• Cory Finley for Thoroughbreds
• Jennifer Fox for The Tale
• Laurie & Quinn Shephard for Blame

2019

• Fredrica Bailey and Stefon Bristol for See You Yesterday
• Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen for Driveways
• Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy for Blow the Man Down
• Jocelyn Deboer and Dawn Luebbe for Greener Grass
• James Montague and Craig W. Sanger for The Vast of Night

Notes

• ≠ Academy Award-winning screenplay
• ≈ Academy Award-nominated screenplay