12th Independent Spirit Awards

The 1996 Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 1996, were announced on March 22, 1997. It was hosted by Samuel L. Jackson.

Nominees and winners

Best Feature

Fargo

• Dead Man
• Loved
• Ulee's Gold
• Welcome to the Dollhouse

Best First Feature

Sling Blade

• Big Night
• I Shot Andy Warhol
• Manny & Lo
• Trees Lounge

Best Director

Joel Coen – Fargo

• Abel Ferrara – The Funeral
• David O. Russell – Flirting with Disaster
• Todd Solondz – Welcome to the Dollhouse
• Robert M. Young – Caught

Best Male Lead

William H. Macy – Fargo

• Chris Cooper – Lone Star
• Chris Penn – The Funeral
• Tony Shalhoub – Big Night
• Stanley Tucci – Big Night

Best Female Lead

Frances McDormand – Fargo

• María Conchita Alonso – Caught
• Scarlett Johansson – Manny & Lo
• Catherine Keener – Walking and Talking
• Renée Zellweger – The Whole Wide World

Best Supporting Male

Benicio del Toro – Basquiat

• Kevin Corrigan – Walking and Talking
• Matthew Faber – Welcome to the Dollhouse
• Gary Farmer – Dead Man
• Richard Jenkins – Flirting with Disaster

Best Supporting Female

Elizabeth Peña – Lone Star

• Mary Kay Place – Manny & Lo
• Queen Latifah – Set It Off
• Lili Taylor – Girls Town
• Lily Tomlin – Flirting with Disaster

Best Screenplay

Fargo – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

• Dead Man – Jim Jarmusch
• Flirting with Disaster – David O. Russell
• The Funeral – Nicholas St. John
• Lone Star – John Sayles

Best First Screenplay

Big Night – Joseph Tropiano and Stanley Tucci

• Girl 6 – Suzan-Lori Parks
• Manny & Lo – Lisa Krueger
• Trees Lounge – Steve Buscemi
• The Whole Wide World – Michael Scott Myers

Best Cinematography

Fargo – Roger Deakins

• Bound – Bill Pope
• Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day – Rob Sweeney
• Dead Man – Robby Müller
• The Funeral – Ken Kelsch

Best Foreign Film

Secrets & Lies • UK

• Breaking the Waves • Denmark
• Chungking Express • Hong Kong
• Lamerica • Italy
• Trainspotting • UK

Best Debut Performance

Heather Matarazzo – Welcome to the Dollhouse

• Jena Malone – Bastard Out of Carolina
• Brendan Sexton III – Welcome to the Dollhouse
• Arie Verveen – Caught
• Jeffrey Wright – Basquiat

Truer Than Fiction Award

When We Were Kings

• The Celluloid Closet
• Looking for Richard
• Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
• Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern

Someone to Watch Award

Larry Fessenden – Habit

• Joe Brewster – The Keeper
• Chris Smith – American Job

External links

• 1996 Spirit Awards at IMDb