Congrats to Lynn Shelton!

Lynn Shelton wins Independent Spirit Award as "Someone to Watch."

Here is the complete list of last nights winners:

Best FeatureThe WrestlerProducers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin
Best DirectorThomas McCarthy, The Visitor
Best First FeatureSynecdoche, New YorkDirector: Charlie KaufmanProducers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)In Search of a Midnight KissWriter/Director: Alex HoldridgeProducers: Seth Caplan and Scoot McNairy
Best First ScreenplayDustin Lance Black, Milk
Best ScreenplayWoody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Female LeadMelissa Leo, Frozen River
Best Male LeadMickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Supporting FemalePenelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Supporting MaleJames Franco, Milk
Best CinematographyMaryse Alberti, The Wrestler
Best DocumentaryMan on WireDirector: James Marsh
Best Foreign FilmThe Class (France)Director: Laurent Cantet
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)Synecdoche, New YorkDirector: Charlie KaufmanCasting Director: Jeanne McCarthyEnsemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams
Someone to Watch AwardLynn Shelton, My Effortless Brilliance
Truer Than Fiction AwardMargaret Brown, The Order of Myths
Producers AwardHeather Rae, Frozen River and Ibid

Here is a snippet from a really excited letter we got from Lynn Shelton right before she would make what would become "My Effortless Brilliance." This is from an earlier post:

"yes yes yes! i am in the midst of my own love affair with this "movement" but i came at it from a slightly different angle.

i made experimental shorts and docs for a decade totally DIY and then was invited to write and direct my first feature a couple of years ago by "the film company" a seattle-based nonprofit film studio. that film was called "WE GO WAY BACK" and won the top prizes at Slamdance 06. it was an amazing experience, my first time on a real set with a real crew (i'd been editing narrative work for years but had always been isolated from the production phase) and i loved every minute of it and learned tons. but i was fantasizing almost immediately about what a more performance-centered filmmaking strategy might look like because the traditional paradigm for making movies is so hard on actors, it seemed to me, especially if you weren't working with seasoned pros."

See full letter here:

http://onewaytv.blogspot.com/2008/11/turkey-day-with-lynn-shelton.html