20th Independent Spirit Awards
The 20th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 2004, were announced on February 26, 2005. It was hosted by Samuel L. Jackson.Nominees and winners
Best Feature
Sideways
- Baadasssss!
- Kinsey
- Maria Full of Grace
- Primer
Best First Feature
Garden State
- Brother to Brother
- Napoleon Dynamite
- Saints and Soldiers
- The Woodsman
Best Director
Alexander Payne - Sideways
Paul Giamatti - Sideways
- Kevin Bacon - The Woodsman
- Jeff Bridges - The Door in the Floor
- Jamie Foxx -
- Liam Neeson - Kinsey
Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace
- Kimberly Elise - Woman Thou Art Loosed
- Vera Farmiga - Down to the Bone
- Judy Marte - On the Outs
- Kyra Sedgwick - Cavedweller
Best Supporting Male
Thomas Haden Church - Sideways
- Jon Gries - Napoleon Dynamite
- Aidan Quinn - Cavedweller
- Roger Robinson - Brother to Brother
- Peter Sarsgaard - Kinsey
Best Supporting Female
Virginia Madsen - Sideways
- Cate Blanchett - Coffee and Cigarettes
- Loretta Devine - Woman Thou Art Loosed
- Robin Simmons - Robbing Peter
- Yenny Paola Vega - Maria Full of Grace
Best Screenplay
Sideways - Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
Maria Full of Grace - Joshua Marston
The Motorcycle Diaries - Eric Gautier
The Sea Inside • Spain
- Bright Leaves
- Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed
- Tarnation
Best Debut Performance
Rodrigo de la Serna - The Motorcycle Diaries
- Anthony Mackie - Brother to Brother
- Louie Olivos Jr. - Robbing Peter
- Hannah Pilkes - The Woodsman
- David Sullivan - Primer
Mean Creek
- Down to the Bone
- On the Outs
- Robbing Peter
- Unknown Soldier
Truer Than Fiction Award
Born into Brothels
- Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed
- Control Room
- Farmingville
Producers Award
Gina Kwon - The Good Girl, Me and You and Everyone We Know and The Motel
- Danielle Renfrew - November and Groove
- Sean Covel and Chris Wyatt - Napoleon Dynamite and Think Tank
Someone to Watch Award
Jem Cohen - Chain
- Bryan Poyser - Dear Pillow
- Jennifer Reeves - The Time We Killed
Special Distinction Award
- The ensemble cast of Mean Creek: Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan, Josh Peck and Carly Schroeder
Films with multiple nominations
- Sideways-6
- Maria Full of Grace-5
- Brother to Brother-4
- Kinsey-4
- Primer-4
- Robbing Peter-4
- Badasssss!-3
- The Motorcycle Diaries-3
- Napoleon Dynamite-3
- The Woodsman-3
- Cavedweller-2
- The Door in the Floor-2
- Down to the Bone-2
- Garden State-2
- On the Outs-2
- Redemption-2
- Saints and Soldiers-2
- Woman Thou Art Loosed-2
Films with multiple wins
- Sideways-6
- Maria Full of Grace-2
- Mean Creek-2
- The Motorcycle Diaries-2
