The Someone to Watch Award is an emerging filmmaker award presented by Film Independent Spirit Awards that recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
History
The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant. [1] The award was first given at the 1994 award ceremony.
Notable winners/nominees who would soon become recognized include Kelly Reichardt ( Wendy and Lucy), Chris Smith ( American Movie), Tim Blake Nelson ( The Grey Zone), Marc Forster ( Finding Neverland), Andrew Bujalski ( Mutual Appreciation), Ramin Bahrani ( Fahrenheit 451) & Barry Jenkins ( Moonlight)
Winners
1990s
- 1994: Lodge Kerrigan – Clean, Shaven [2]
- 1995:
Christopher Münch –
Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day
- Tim McCann – Desolation Angels
- Jennifer Montgomery – Art for Teachers of Children
- Kelly Reichardt – River of Grass
- Rafal Zielinski – Fun
- 1996:
Larry Fessenden –
Habit
- Joe Brewster – The Keeper
- Chris Smith – American Job
- 1997: Scott Saunders – The Headhunter's Sister
- 1998: David D. Williams – Thirteen
- Tony Barbieri – One
- Lynn Hershman Leeson – Conceiving Ada
- Eric Tretbar – Snow
- 1999:
Cauleen Smith –
Drylongso
- Dan Clark – The Item
- Julian Goldberger – Trans
- Lisanne Skyler – Getting to Know You
2000s
- 2000:
Marc Forster –
Everything Put Together
- Dan McCormack – Other Voices
- Mia Trachinger – Bunny
- 2001:
Debra Eisenstadt –
Daydream Believer
- DeMane Davis and Khari Streeter – Lift
- Michael Gilio – Kwik Stop
- David Maquiling – Too Much Sleep
- 2002: Przemyslaw Reut – Paradox Lake
- 2003:
Andrew Bujalski –
Funny Ha Ha
- Ben Coccio – Zero Day
- Ryan Eslinger – Madness and Genius
- 2004:
Jem Cohen –
Chain
- Bryan Poyser – Dear Pillow
- Jennifer Reeves – The Time We Killed
- 2005: Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana –
Cavite
- Robinson Devor – Police Beat
- Jay Duplass – The Puffy Chair
- 2006:
Julia Loktev –
Day Night Day Night
- So Yong Kim – In Between Days
- Richard Wong – Colma: The Musical
- 2007:
Ramin Bahrani –
Chop Shop
- Ronald Bronstein – Frownland
- Lee Isaac Chung – Munyurangabo
- 2008: Lynn Shelton – My Effortless Brilliance
- 2009: Kyle Patrick Alvarez –
Easier with Practice
- Asiel Norton – Redland
- Tariq Tapa – Zero Bridge
2010s
- 2010: Mike Ott –
Littlerock
- Hossein Keshavarz – Dog Sweat
- Laurel Nakadate – The Wolf Knife
- 2011: Mark Jackson – Without
- Simon Arthur – Silver Tongues
- Nicholas Ozeki – Mamitas
- 2012:
Adam Leon –
Gimme the Loot
- David Fenster – Pincus
- Rebecca Thomas – Electrick Children
- 2013: Shaka King – Newlyweeds
- Madeline Olnek – The Foxy Merkins
- Aaron Douglas Johnston – My Sister's Quinceañera
- 2014:
Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia – H.
- Ana Lily Amirpour – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
- Chris Eska – The Retrieval
- 2015: Felix Thompson – King Jack
- Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck – God Bless the Child
- Chloé Zhao – Songs My Brothers Taught Me
- 2016:
Anna Rose Holmer –
The Fits
- Andrew Ahn – Spa Night
- Claire Carré – Embers
- Ingrid Jungermann – Women Who Kill
- 2017:
Justin Chon —
Gook
[3]
- Amman Abbasi — Dayveon
- Kevin Phillips — Super Dark Times
- 2018: Alexandre Moratto —
Sócrates
[4]
- Ioana Uricaru — Lemonade
- Jeremiah Zagar — We the Animals
- 2019:
Rashaad Ernesto Green — Premature
[5]
- Ash Mayfair — The Third Wife
- Joe Talbot — The Last Black Man in San Francisco
2020s
- 2020:
Ekwa Msangi –
Farewell Amor
- David Midell – The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
- Annie Silverstein – Bull
- 2021: Alex Camilleri –
Luzzu
- Gillian Wallace Horvat – I Blame Society
- Michael Sarnoski – Pig
- 2022:
Nikyatu Jusu –
Nanny
- Adamma Ebo – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
- Araceli Lemos – Holy Emy
- 2023
- Monica Sorelle – Mountains
- Joanna Arnow – The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
- Laura Moss – Birth/Rebirth
References
- ^ "Spirit Awards Grants - Film Independent". Film Independent. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ^ Clean, Shaven - Awards - IMDb
- ^ Spirit Awards 2018 Winners List — Variety
- ^ 'Socrates' Trailer: Brazilian Indie Spirit Was Made for $20K|IndieWire
- ^ Independent Spirit Awards 2020: The Complete List of Winners - The Wrap
The Someone to Watch Award is an emerging filmmaker award presented by Film Independent Spirit Awards that recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
History
The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant. [1] The award was first given at the 1994 award ceremony.
Notable winners/nominees who would soon become recognized include Kelly Reichardt ( Wendy and Lucy), Chris Smith ( American Movie), Tim Blake Nelson ( The Grey Zone), Marc Forster ( Finding Neverland), Andrew Bujalski ( Mutual Appreciation), Ramin Bahrani ( Fahrenheit 451) & Barry Jenkins ( Moonlight)
Winners
1990s
- 1994: Lodge Kerrigan – Clean, Shaven [2]
- 1995:
Christopher Münch –
Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day
- Tim McCann – Desolation Angels
- Jennifer Montgomery – Art for Teachers of Children
- Kelly Reichardt – River of Grass
- Rafal Zielinski – Fun
- 1996:
Larry Fessenden –
Habit
- Joe Brewster – The Keeper
- Chris Smith – American Job
- 1997: Scott Saunders – The Headhunter's Sister
- 1998: David D. Williams – Thirteen
- Tony Barbieri – One
- Lynn Hershman Leeson – Conceiving Ada
- Eric Tretbar – Snow
- 1999:
Cauleen Smith –
Drylongso
- Dan Clark – The Item
- Julian Goldberger – Trans
- Lisanne Skyler – Getting to Know You
2000s
- 2000:
Marc Forster –
Everything Put Together
- Dan McCormack – Other Voices
- Mia Trachinger – Bunny
- 2001:
Debra Eisenstadt –
Daydream Believer
- DeMane Davis and Khari Streeter – Lift
- Michael Gilio – Kwik Stop
- David Maquiling – Too Much Sleep
- 2002: Przemyslaw Reut – Paradox Lake
- 2003:
Andrew Bujalski –
Funny Ha Ha
- Ben Coccio – Zero Day
- Ryan Eslinger – Madness and Genius
- 2004:
Jem Cohen –
Chain
- Bryan Poyser – Dear Pillow
- Jennifer Reeves – The Time We Killed
- 2005: Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana –
Cavite
- Robinson Devor – Police Beat
- Jay Duplass – The Puffy Chair
- 2006:
Julia Loktev –
Day Night Day Night
- So Yong Kim – In Between Days
- Richard Wong – Colma: The Musical
- 2007:
Ramin Bahrani –
Chop Shop
- Ronald Bronstein – Frownland
- Lee Isaac Chung – Munyurangabo
- 2008: Lynn Shelton – My Effortless Brilliance
- 2009: Kyle Patrick Alvarez –
Easier with Practice
- Asiel Norton – Redland
- Tariq Tapa – Zero Bridge
2010s
- 2010: Mike Ott –
Littlerock
- Hossein Keshavarz – Dog Sweat
- Laurel Nakadate – The Wolf Knife
- 2011: Mark Jackson – Without
- Simon Arthur – Silver Tongues
- Nicholas Ozeki – Mamitas
- 2012:
Adam Leon –
Gimme the Loot
- David Fenster – Pincus
- Rebecca Thomas – Electrick Children
- 2013: Shaka King – Newlyweeds
- Madeline Olnek – The Foxy Merkins
- Aaron Douglas Johnston – My Sister's Quinceañera
- 2014:
Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia – H.
- Ana Lily Amirpour – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
- Chris Eska – The Retrieval
- 2015: Felix Thompson – King Jack
- Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck – God Bless the Child
- Chloé Zhao – Songs My Brothers Taught Me
- 2016:
Anna Rose Holmer –
The Fits
- Andrew Ahn – Spa Night
- Claire Carré – Embers
- Ingrid Jungermann – Women Who Kill
- 2017:
Justin Chon —
Gook
[3]
- Amman Abbasi — Dayveon
- Kevin Phillips — Super Dark Times
- 2018: Alexandre Moratto —
Sócrates
[4]
- Ioana Uricaru — Lemonade
- Jeremiah Zagar — We the Animals
- 2019:
Rashaad Ernesto Green — Premature
[5]
- Ash Mayfair — The Third Wife
- Joe Talbot — The Last Black Man in San Francisco
2020s
- 2020:
Ekwa Msangi –
Farewell Amor
- David Midell – The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
- Annie Silverstein – Bull
- 2021: Alex Camilleri –
Luzzu
- Gillian Wallace Horvat – I Blame Society
- Michael Sarnoski – Pig
- 2022:
Nikyatu Jusu –
Nanny
- Adamma Ebo – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
- Araceli Lemos – Holy Emy
- 2023
- Monica Sorelle – Mountains
- Joanna Arnow – The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
- Laura Moss – Birth/Rebirth
References
- ^ "Spirit Awards Grants - Film Independent". Film Independent. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ^ Clean, Shaven - Awards - IMDb
- ^ Spirit Awards 2018 Winners List — Variety
- ^ 'Socrates' Trailer: Brazilian Indie Spirit Was Made for $20K|IndieWire
- ^ Independent Spirit Awards 2020: The Complete List of Winners - The Wrap