Other winners included Adam Sandler for best male lead, Renée Zellweger for best female lead, the Safdie brothers for best director and Noah Baumbach for best screenplay.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards often position themselves in direct contrast to the Oscars — and this year was no different. The Spirit Awards ceremony, which took place on the beach in Santa Monica, promoted the diversity that is infamously lacking in the 2020 Academy Awards.

"We actually honor female directors," said host Aubrey Plaza during her opening monologue, giving a dig at the Oscars, which lacks women directing nominees for yet another year, as the camera panned to Honey Boy director Alma Har’el.

From the stage, Plaza also called-out supporting actress nominee Jennifer Lopez and their shared Puerto Rican heritage, noting that Puerto Rico is a lot like [working in] independent film: "It’s beautiful, not enough people have seen it and its financing is always falling through." The joke was greeted with laughs, groans and a sad grimace from Lopez.

Three out of the four winners in the acting categories were not nominated for the Oscars in the same respective categories (Renee Zellweger took home the trophy for the best lead actress, and is the expected winner at Sunday's Academy Awards).

"For the first time at the [Film] Independent Spirit Awards, all five supporting actress nominees are women of color," noted presenter Idina Menzel. The Oscars only have one acting nominee that is a person of color — Cynthia Erivo for Harriett.

The supporting actress winner was The Farewell’s Zhao Shuzen, who was stuck in China due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (director Lulu Wang accepted the award on her behalf), while Willem Dafoe won for best supporting actor for The Lighthouse.

Both The Farewell and The Lighthouse hail from A24. After being nearly shut-out of the Oscars, the indie studio was the biggest winner at the Saturday Spirit Awards ceremony, securing three out of the four acting categories; best cinematography, best editing, best director and best picture, with Wang’s The Farewell. "They were the one who were able to give us the platform," said Wang.

Adam Sandler, who was snubbed from a leading actor Oscar nomination for his A24 title Uncut Gems, received a standing ovation as he made his way to the stage to accept his trophy.

During his acceptance speech, Sandler surmised of the gab between the Spirit Awards and Academy Awards ceremony, using a personal anecdote, saying, "A few weeks back when I got quote-on-quote snubbed by the Oscars, it reminded me when I briefly attended highly and was overlooked for the coveted yearbook superlative ‘Best Looking’. That accolade was given to a jean jacket wearing douche bag by the name of Skipper Jenkins, but my classmates did honor me with the allegedly less prestigious ‘Best Personality.'"

He concluded: "Let all those douchebag motherfuckers get their Oscar tomorrow night. Their handsome, good looks will fade in time, but our indent personalities will shine on forever!"

The 35th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards aired on IFC.

A complete list of winners follows. Read all the news from the show here.

• Best Feature

  Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.

  

  The Farewell (WINNER)
  Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng

  A Hidden Life
  Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter

  Clemency
  Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong

  Marriage Story
  Producers: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman

  Uncut Gems
  Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Scott Rudin

• Best First Feature

  Award given to the director and producer.

  

  Booksmart (WINNER)
  Director: Olivia Wilde
  Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman

  The Climb
  Director/Producer: Michael Angelo Covino
  Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin

  Diane
  Director: Kent Jones
  Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman

  The Last Black Man in San Francisco
  Director/Producer: Joe Talbot
  Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh

  The Mustang
  Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
  Producer: Ilan Goldman

  See You Yesterday
  Director: Stefon Bristol
  Producer: Spike Lee

• Best Director

  

  Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems (WINNER)
  Alma Har'el, Honey Boy
  Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers
  Julius Onah, Luce
  Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
• Best Female Lead

  

  Renée Zellweger, Judy (WINNER)
  Karen Allen, Colewell
  Hong Chau, Driveways
  Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell
  Mary Kay Place, Diane
  Alfre Woodard, Clemency

• Best Male Lead

  

  Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems (WINNER)
  Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty
  Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luce
  Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse
  Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang

• Best Supporting Female

  

  Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell (WINNER)
  Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
  Taylor Russell, Waves
  Lauren "LoLo" Spencer, Give Me Liberty
  Octavia Spencer, Luce
• Best Supporting Male

  

  Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse (WINNER)
  Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
  Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy
  Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
  Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane

• Best Screenplay

  

  Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story (WINNER)
  Jason Begue & Shawn Snyder, To Dust
  Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
  Chinonye Chukwu, Clemency
  Tarell Alvin McCraney, High Flying Bird

• Best First Screenplay

  

  Fredrica Bailey & Stefon Bristol, See You Yesterday (WINNER)
  Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen, Driveways
  Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy, Blow the Man Down
  Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe, Greener Grass
  James Montague & Craig W. Sanger, The Vast of Night
• Best International Film

  Award given to the director

  

  Parasite (South Korea), Director: Bong Joon Ho (WINNER)
  Invisible Life (Brazil), Director: Karim Aïnouz
  Les Misérables (France), Director: Ladj Ly
  Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France), Director: Céline Sciamma
  Retablo (Peru), Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L.
  The Souvenir (United Kingdom), Director: Joanna Hogg

• Best Documentary

  Award given to the director and producer.

  

  American Factory (WINNER)
  Director/Producer: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert
  Producers: Julie Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert

  Apollo 11
  Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller
  Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Petersen

  For Sama
  Director: Edward Watts
  Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab

  Honeyland
  Director: Tamara Kotevska
  Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov
  Producer: Atanas Georgiev

  Island of the Hungry Ghosts
  Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady
  Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh

• Best Cinematography

  

  Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse (WINNER)
  Todd Banhazl, Hustlers
  Natasha Braier, Honey Boy
  Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife
  Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommar
• Best Editing

  

  Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems (WINNER)
  Julie Béziau, The Third Wife
  Tyler L. Cook, Sword of Trust
  Louise Ford, The Lighthouse
  Kirill Mikhanovsky, Give Me Liberty

• Robert Altman Award

  Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

  

  Marriage Story
  Director: Noah Baumbach
  Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
  Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever

• John Cassavetes Award

  Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

  

  Give Me Liberty (WINNER)
  Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky
  Writer/Producer: Alice Austen
  Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern

  Burning Cane
  Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans
  Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer, Wendell Pierce, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans

  Colewell
  Writer/Director: Tom Quinn
  Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm

  Premature
  Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green
  Writer: Zora Howard
  Producer: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes

  Wild Nights With Emily
  Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek
  Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron
• Bonnie Award

  Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the second Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.

  

  Kelly Reichardt (WINNER)
  Marielle Heller
  Lulu Wang

• Producers Award

  The 22nd annual Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

  

  Mollye Asher (WINNER)
  Krista Parris
  Ryan Zacarias

• Someone to Watch Award

  The 25th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

  

  Rashaad Ernesto Green, Director of Premature (WINNER)
  Ash Mayfair, Director of The Third Wife
  Joe Talbot, Director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco
• Truer Than Fiction Award

  The 24th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

  

  Nadia Shihab, Director of Jaddoland (WINNER)
  Khalik Allah, Director of Black Mother
  Davy Rothbart, Director of 17 Blocks
  Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside, Director of América