Click through each award to see the full list of nominees and winners!
2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Booksmart
Olivia Wilde
2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Sorry to Bother You
Boots Riley
2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Ingrid Goes West
Matt Spicer
2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Witch
Robert Eggers
2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Marielle Heller
2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Nightcrawler
Dan Gilroy
2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Fruitvale Station
Ryan Coogler
2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Margin Call
Joe Jenckes
2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Get Low
Aaron Schneider
2010 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Crazy Heart
Scott Cooper
2009 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Synecdoche, New York
Charlie Kaufman
2008 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Lookout
Scott Frank
2007 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Sweet Land
Ali Selim
2006 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Crash
Paul Haggis
2005 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Garden State
Zach Braff
2004 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Monster
Patty Jenkins
2003 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
Peter Care
2002 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
In the Bedroom
Todd Field
2001 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
You Can Count on Me
Kenneth Lonergan
2000 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Being John Malkovich
Spike Jonze
2000 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Blair Witch Project
Daniel Myrick
1999 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Opposite of Sex
Don Roos
1998 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Eve’s Bayou
Kasi Lemmons
1997 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Sling Blade
Billy Bob Thornton
1996 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Brothers McMullen
Edward Burns
1995 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Spanking the Monkey
David O. Russell
1994 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
El mariachi
Robert Rodriguez
1993 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
The Waterdance
Neal Jimenez
1992 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Straight Out of Brooklyn
Matty Rich
1991 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Metropolitan
Whit Stillman
1990 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Heathers
Michael Lehmann
1989 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Mystic Pizza
Donald Petrie
1988 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
Dirty Dancing
Emile Ardolino
1987 Film Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
