# 24th Independent Spirit Awards

The 24th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 2008, were announced on February 21, 2009. It was hosted by Steve Coogan.

## Winners and nominees

| Best Feature | Best Director |
| The Wrestler Ballast Frozen River Rachel Getting Married Wendy and Lucy | Tom McCarthy – The Visitor Ramin Bahrani – Chop Shop Jonathan Demme – Rachel Getting Married Lance Hammer – Ballast Courtney Hunt – Frozen River |
| Best Male Lead | Best Female Lead |
| Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler Javier Bardem – Vicky Cristina Barcelona Richard Jenkins – The Visitor Sean Penn – Milk Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker | Melissa Leo – Frozen River Summer Bishil – Towelhead Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married Tarra Riggs – Ballast Michelle Williams – Wendy and Lucy |
| Best Supporting Male | Best Supporting Female |
| James Franco – Milk Anthony Mackie – The Hurt Locker Charlie McDermott – Frozen River Jim Myron Ross – Ballast Haaz Sleiman – The Visitor | Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona Rosemarie DeWitt – Rachel Getting Married Rosie Perez – The Take Misty Upham – Frozen River Debra Winger – Rachel Getting Married |
| Best Screenplay | Best First Screenplay |
| Vicky Cristina Barcelona – Woody Allen Sangre de Mi Sangre – Christopher Zalla Savage Grace – Howard A. Rodman Sugar – Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Synecdoche, New York – Charlie Kaufman | Milk – Dustin Lance Black Ballast – Lance Hammer Frozen River – Courtney Hunt Rachel Getting Married – Jenny Lumet The Wackness – Jonathan Levine |
| Best First Feature | Best Documentary |
| Synecdoche, New York Afterschool Medicine for Melancholy Sangre de Mi Sangre Sleep Dealer | Man on Wire The Betrayal Encounters at the End of the World The Order of Myths Up the Yangtze |
| Best Cinematography | Best Foreign Film |
| The Wrestler – Maryse Alberti Ballast – Lol Crawley Chop Shop – Michael Simmonds Medicine for Melancholy – James Laxton Milk – Harris Savides | The Class • France Gomorrah • Italy Hunger • Ireland/UK The Secret of the Grain • France Silent Light • Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany |

### Films with multiple nominations and awards

Films that received multiple nominations :
| Nominations | Film |
| 6 | Ballast |
| 6 | Frozen River |
| 6 | Rachel Getting Married |
| 4 | Milk |
| 3 | The Visitor |
| 3 | The Wrestler |
| 2 | Chop Shop |
| 2 | The Hurt Locker |
| 2 | Wendy and Lucy |
| 2 | Sangre de Mi Sangre |
| 2 | Synecdoche, New York |
| 2 | Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
Films that won multiple awards :
| Awards | Film |
| 3 | The Wrestler |
| 2 | Synecdoche, New York |
| 2 | Vicky Cristina Barcelona |

## Special Awards
### John Cassavetes Award

In Search of a Midnight Kiss
* Prince of Broadway
* The Signal
* Take Out
* Turn the River

### Truer Than Fiction Award

The Order of Myths
* Anvil! The Story of Anvil
* Loot

### Producers Award

Heather Rae – Frozen River and Ibid
* Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy – Treeless Mountain and I'll Come Running
* Jason Orans – Goodbye Solo and Year of the Fish

### Someone to Watch Award

Lynn Shelton – My Effortless Brilliance
* Barry Jenkins – Medicine for Melancholy
* Nina Paley – Sita Sings the Blues

### Robert Altman Award

* Synecdoche, New York — Charlie Kaufman, Jeanne McCarthy, Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest and Michelle Williams