The 18th
Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in
independent filmmaking
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
for
2002, were presented on March 22, 2003. The nominations were announced on December 12, 2002. It was hosted by
John Waters
John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
.
Additionally, this ceremony is notable for when presenter
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...
seemingly bungled the reading of the winner for Best Debut Performance. In reference to her acting ability, legendary film critic
Roger Ebert wrote:
As for Brittany Murphy, for me, it goes back to the 2003 Independent Spirit Awards here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here
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* Here TV (form ...
Murphy was assigned to present one of the awards. Her task was to read the names of the five nominees, open an envelope, and reveal the name of the winner. This she turned into an opportunity for screwball improvisational comedy, by pretending she could not follow this sequence, not even after the audience shouted instructions and the stage manager came to whisper in her ear not once but twice. There were those in the audience who were dumbfounded by her stupidity. I was dumbfounded by her brilliance.
Suspiciously, video footage of the entire ceremony is absent from online resources despite prior and subsequent ceremonies being made available in their entirety officially on Film Independent's YouTube account. However, footage of Murphy's alleged act was used for the 2021
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
documentary titled ''What Happened, Brittany Murphy?''.
Winners and nominees
Special awards
John Cassavetes Award
''
Personal Velocity: Three Portraits''
* ''
Charlotte Sometimes''
* ''
Dahmer''
* ''
ivans xtc.''
* ''
The Slaughter Rule
''The Slaughter Rule'' is a 2002 independent film directed by Alex Smith and Andrew J. Smith and starring Ryan Gosling and David Morse (actor), David Morse. The film, set in contemporary Montana, explores the relationship between a small-town hig ...
''
Truer Than Fiction Award
Jennifer Dworkin – ''
Love & Diane''
*
Jeffrey Blitz
Jeffrey Blitz is an American film director, screenwriter and producer best known for the documentary '' Spellbound'' (2003), ''The Office'' (2007 - 2010), the fiction film '' Rocket Science'' (2007) and ''Comedy Central’s'' ''Review'' (2014 ...
– ''
Spellbound''
*
Eugene Jarecki
Eugene Jarecki (born October 5, 1969) is an American filmmaker and author. He is best known as a two-time winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, as well as multiple Emmy and Peabody Awards, for his films '' Why We Fight'', ''Reagan'', and '' T ...
– ''
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
''The Trials of Henry Kissinger'' is a 2002 documentary film directed by Eugene Jarecki and narrated by Brian Cox. Inspired by Christopher Hitchens' 2001 book ''The Trial of Henry Kissinger'', the film examines war crimes alleged to have been per ...
''
* Mark Moskowitz – ''
Stone Reader''
Producers Award
Effie Brown – ''
Real Women Have Curves
''Real Women Have Curves'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Patricia Cardoso, based on the Real Women Have Curves (play), play of the same name by Josefina López, who co-authored the screenplay for the film with George LaVoo. Th ...
'' and ''
Stranger Inside''
* Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro – ''Cry Funny Happy'' and ''
Manito''
* Eden Wurmfeld – ''
Fanci's Persuasion
''Fanci's Persuasion'' is a 1995 American film directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld (born July 5, 1966) is an American film and television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in mak ...
'' and ''
Kissing Jessica Stein
''Kissing Jessica Stein'' is a 2001 American independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. I ...
''
Someone to Watch Award
Przemysław Reut – ''
Paradox Lake''
*
Eric Eason
Eric Eason is an American film director and screenwriter.
''Manito''
His first feature film '' Manito'' premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize and went on to win 16 awards on the International Festival C ...
– ''
Manito''
*
Eitan Gorlin
Eitan Gorlin (born 1969 in Washington, D.C.) is a filmmaker, author and actor. He is known for his portrayal of Martin Eisenstadt, a satirical depiction of a McCain campaign adviser. Even though Eisenstadt was said to be part of the "Harding In ...
– ''
The Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy L ...
''
Films with multiple wins and nominations
Films that received multiple nominations
Films that won multiple awards
References
External links
2002 Spirit Awards at IMDb
{{IS Awards Chron
2002
Independent Spirit Awards