Global General

'Precious' sweeps all awards at Spirit Awards

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-06 19:43

LOS ANGELES - "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" swept all five awards it was nominated for at the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards on Friday night in Los Angeles.

Indie standout Gabourey Sidibe, who played the abused teen in "Precious," won the prize for best female lead at the presentation held in the Los Angeles Live complex.

Helen Mirren of "The Last Station," about the latter-day life of Russian writer Lev Tolstoy, Gwyneth Paltrow of the drama "Two Lovers," Maria Bello of "Downloading Nancy" and Nisreen Faour of "Amreeka" walked away empty-handed.

Mo'Nique, who got a nod for best supporting actress at the Oscars, added the best supporting female Spirit Award to her Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for her role as an abusive mother in the same drama.

Director Lee Daniels was crowned with best director and Geoffrey Fletcher walked away with best first screenplay.

The Oscar sure-thing Jeff Bridges, who played a down-and-out country singer in "Crazy Heart," was awarded best actor. The field also consisted of Oscar nominee Colin Firth of "A Single Man," Joseph Gordon-Levitt of "(500) Days of Summer," Adam Scott of "The Vicious Kind" and Souleymane SySavane from "Goodbye Solo."

Founded in 1984 and originally known as FINDIE(Friends of Independents) Awards, the annual event honors independent productions with a budget of less than 20 million dollars. It has now evolved into a non-profit organization of 5,000 members including almost all independent producers in Hollywood. It usually presents its own awards one day prior to the presentation of the Oscars.

This year, the organizers moved its usual venue from Santa Monica to Los Angeles, and the event was held one day ahead of schedule.