Spirit Awards Move to Friday Night in 25th Anniversary Year

The Independent Spirit Awards are like the Academy Awards for indie filmmakers. This is the event where people who make some of the most brilliant and creative films in Hollywood with a very, very little budget go to ring in on their success. You win an award here, and the Weinstein brothers or Joel Silver will be knocking at your door.

This will mark the 25th anniversary of the Spirit Awards, which is a HUGE deal for indie filmmakers. The awards show started out in 1984 as a very small program for friends by friends called FINDIE (”Friends of Independents”), and has now blossomed to be one of the most sought-after awards show for movie geeks from all over the globe. To celebrate this incredible achievement, Film Independent and IFC (Independent Film Channel) will be broadcasting the ceremony live in a special primetime event. No venue has been announced yet. The awards had been traditionally held on the Saturday afternoon before the Academy Awards, in relaxed get-together in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

Cathy Schulman, producer "Crash", 2006 Spirit Awards
(Red Carpet Arrivals: under a tent on the beach in Santa Monica)

Film Independent Executive Director Dawn Hudson said: “In planning this year’s significant anniversary, we decided to venture away from our beloved day at the beach to a Friday evening where we hope an even broader audience discovers us as we kick-off the awards weekend.”

Previous Spirit Award winners include Paul Haggis, Joel & Ethan Coen, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Edward Burns, Aaron Eckhart, Neil LaBute, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Hilary Swank, Marc Forster, Todd Field, Christopher Nolan, Zach Braff, Amy Adams, and many more.

Paul Haggis, writer/director (Crash)
Winner 'Best First Film', 2006 Spirit Awards

This year’s Spirit Awards will broadcast live and uncut on Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. PST/11:00 p.m. EST on IFC. Call for entries begin on Monday, August 10 and the nominations press conference will take place on Tuesday, December 1.

Source: Film Independent