| John Cassavetes Award | |
| Awarded For: | Best creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000 |
| Presenter: | Independent Spirit Awards |
| Year: | The Blair Witch Project (1999) |
| Holder: | Fremont (film) – Babak Jalali, Carolina Cavalli (39th Independent Spirit Awards) |
The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1,000,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after actor/screenwriter/director John Cassavetes, a pioneer of American independent film. The award is given to the directors, writers and producers of a film.[1]
Created for the 15th Independent Spirit Awards, it was originally called the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature (Under $500,000). After that, the rules changed so that any feature film budgeted under $500,000 could be eligible (regardless of how many films the director has made), hence the new name. The first recipient of the award was the horror film The Blair Witch Project. In 2023, the rules changed to include any feature film budgeted under $1,000,000.[2]
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Blair Witch Project | Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez | Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie | |
| La Ciudad | David Riker, Paul S. Mezey | |||
| Compensation | Marc Arthur Chery | Marc Arthur Chery, Zeinabu Irene Davis | ||
| Judy Berlin | Rocco Caruso | |||
| Treasure Island | Scott King | Adrienne Gruben | ||
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Chuck & Buck | Miguel Arteta | Mike White | Matthew Greenfield |
| Bunny | Mia Trachinger | Rebecca Sonnenshine, Mia Trachinger | ||
| Everything Put Together | Sean Furst | |||
| Groove | Danielle Renfrew | |||
| Our Song | Jim McKay, Paul S. Mezey, Diana E. Williams | |||
| 2001 | Jackpot | Michael Polish | Michael Polish, Mark Polish | |
| Acts of Worship | Nadia Leonelli, Fredrick Sundwall, Rosemary Rodriguez | |||
| Kaaterskill Falls | Josh Apter, Peter Olsen | |||
| Punks | Patrik-Ian Polk, Tracey E. Edmonds, Michael McQuarn | |||
| Virgil Bliss | Joe Maggio, John Maggio | |||
| 2002 | Personal Velocity | Rebecca Miller[3] | Lemore Syvan, Alexis Alexanian, Gary Winick | |
| Charlotte Sometimes | Marc Ambrose, Eric Byler | |||
| Dahmer | Larry Rattner | |||
| ivans xtc. | Lisa Enos | |||
| The Slaughter Rule | Alex Smith, Andrew J. Smith | Gregory O'Connor, Michael Robinson | ||
| 2003 | The Station Agent | Tom McCarthy[4] | Mary Jane Skalski, Robert May, Kathryn Tucker | |
| Anne B. Real | Luis Moro, Jeanine Rohn, Josselyne Herman Saccio | |||
| Better Luck Tomorrow | Ernesto M. Foronda, Justin Lin, Fabian Marquez | Julie Asato, Justin Lin, Ernesto M. Foronda | ||
| Pieces of April | Alexis Alexanian, John S. Lyons, Gary Winick | |||
| Virgin | Sarah Schenck | |||
| 2004 | Mean Creek | Jacob Aaron Estes | Hagai Shaham, Rick Rosenthal, Susan Johnson | |
| Down to the Bone | Debra Granik, Richard Lieske | Susan Leber, Anne Rosellini | ||
| On the Outs | Lori Silverbush, Michael Skolnik | Lori Silverbush | Lori Silverbush, Michael Skolnik | |
| Robbing Peter | Mario F. de la Vega | T. Todd Flinchum, Lisa Y. Garibay, Mario F. de la Vega | ||
| Unknown Soldier | Ferenc Toth | Sean Bachrodt, Seth Eisman, Chachi Senior, Ferenc Totho | ||
| 2005 | Conventioneers | Mora Stephens | Mora Stephens, Joel Viertel | Joel Viertel |
| Brick | Ram Bergman, Mark G. Mathis | |||
| Jellysmoke | Mark Banning | Mark Banning, Cliff Charles, Mad Matthewz | ||
| The Puffy Chair | Mark Duplass | |||
| Room | Allen Bain, Darren Goldberg, Jesse Scolaro | |||
| 2006 | Quinceañera | Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland | Anne Clements | |
| 12 and Holding | Leslie Urdang, Michael Cuesta, Brian Bell, Jenny Schweitzer | |||
| Chalk | Mike Akel | Chris Mass, Maike Akel | Mike Akel, Angela Alvarez, Graham Davidson, Chris Mass | |
| Four Eyed Monsters | Arin Crumley, Susan Buice | |||
| Old Joy | Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Anish Savjani, Neil Kopp | |||
| 2007 | August Evening | Chris Eska | Connie Hill, Jason Wehling | |
| Owl and the Sparrow | Nguyen Van Quan, Doan Nhat Nam, Stephane Gauger | |||
| The Pool | Chris Smith, Randy Russell | Kate Noble | ||
| Quiet City | Brendan McFadden, Ben Stambler | |||
| Shotgun Stories | David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Jeff Nichols | |||
| 2008 | In Search of a Midnight Kiss | Alex Holdridge | Seth Caplan, Scoot McNairy | |
| Prince of Broadway | Sean Baker, Darren Dean | Darren Dean | ||
| The Signal | Jacob Gentry, Alexander Motlagh | |||
| Take Out | Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou | |||
| Turn the River | Ami Armstrong | |||
| 2009 | Humpday | Lynn Shelton | ||
| Big Fan | Jean Kouremetis, Elan Bogarin | |||
| The New Year Parade | Tom Quinn | Steve Beal, Tom Quinn | ||
| Treeless Mountain | Bradley Rust Gray, Ben Howe, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, So Yong Kim | |||
| Zero Bridge | Tariq Tapa | Hilal Ahmed Langoo, Josée Lajoie, Tariq Tapa | ||
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Residue[9] | Merawi Gerima | ||
| The Killing of Two Lovers | Robert Machoian | Robert Machoian, Scott Christopherson, Clayne Crawford | ||
| La Leyenda Negra | Patricia Vidal Delgado | Alicia Herder, Marcel Perez | ||
| Lingua Franca | Isabel Sandoval, Darlene Catly Malimas, Jhett Tolentino, Carlo Velayo, Dax Stringer | |||
| Saint Frances | Alex Thompson | Alex Thompson, James Choi, Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Eddie Linker, Raphael Nash, Roger Welp | ||
| 2021 [10] | Shiva Baby[11] | Emma Seligman | Emma Seligman, Kieran Altmann, Katie Schiller, Lizzie Shapiro | |
| Cryptozoo | Tyler Davidson, Kyle Martin, Jane Samborski, Bill Way | |||
| Jockey | Clint Bentley | Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar | Clint Bentley, Nancy Schafer, Greg Kwedar | |
| Sweet Thing | Alexandre Rockwell | Louis Anania, Haley Anderson, Kenan Baysal | ||
| This Is Not a War Story | Noah Lang, Julian West Margarita Albelo, Talia Lugacy, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron | |||
| 2022 [12] | The Cathedral | Ricky D'Ambrose | Graham Swon | |
| The African Desperate | Martine Syms | Martine Syms, Rocket Caleshu | Martine Syms, Rocket Caleshu, Vic Brooks | |
| Holy Emy | Araceli Lemos | Araceli Lemos, Giulia Caruso | Giulia Caruso, Mathieu Bompoint, Ki Jin Kim, Konstantinos Vassilaros | |
| A Love Song | Max Walker-Silverman | Max Walker-Silverman, Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey | ||
| Something in the Dirt | Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, David Lawson Jr. | |||
| 2023 | Fremont[13] | Babak Jalali | Babak Jalali, Carolina Cavalli | Rachael Fung, Chris Martin, Marjaneh Moghimi, George Rush, Sudnya Shroff, Laura Wagner |
| The Artifice Girl | Franklin Ritch | Aaron B. Koontz, Ashleigh Snead | ||
| Cadejo Blanco | Justin Lerner | Mauricio Escobar, Ryan Friedkin, Jack Patrick Hurley | ||
| Rotting in the Sun | Sebastian Silva | Jacob Wasserman | ||
| The Unknown Country | Morrisa Maltz, Lily Gladstone, Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, Vanara Taing | Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, Vanara Taing, Katherine Harper, Laura Heberton, Tommy Heitkamp | ||