The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay is one of the annual awards given by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It was first presented in 1994 with David O. Russell being the first recipient of the award for Spanking the Monkey, a film he also directed.
Winners and nominees
1990s YearRecipient(s)Film1994Ten Groundbreaking Film Independent Spirit Awards Wins - Film Independent David O. Russell Spanking the Monkey Paul Zehrer BlessingKevin Smith ClerksJames Bosley FunTom Noonan What Happened Was1995 Paul Auster Smoke Harmony Korine KidsJames Gray Little OdessaSteve McLean Postcards from AmericaKelly Reichardt River of Grass1996Stanley Tucci · Conversatory of Theatre Arts · Purchase College Joseph Tropiano and Stanley Tucci Big Night Suzan-Lori Parks Girl 6Lisa Krueger Manny & LoMichael Scott Myers The Whole Wide WorldSteve Buscemi Trees Lounge1997 Neil LaBute In the Company of Men Steven Schwartz Critical CarePaul Thomas Anderson Hard EightMiguel Arteta Star MapsDaniel Harris The Bible and Gun Club1998 Darren Aronofsky Pi Lisa Cholodenko High ArtMatthew Weiss Niagara, NiagaraTamara Jenkins Slums of Beverly HillsSherman Alexie Smoke Signals1999Being John Malkovich - Awards - IMDb Charlie Kaufman Being John Malkovich Kimberly Peirce and Andy Bienen Boys Don't CryAnne Rapp Cookie's FortuneTod Williams The Adventures of Sebastian ColeJohn Roach and Mary Sweeney The Straight Story
2000s
YearRecipient(s)Film2000"Love and Basketball" (New Line Cinema, 2000)|Library of Congress Gina Prince-Bythewood Love & Basketball Ben Younger Boiler RoomDavid Gordon Green George WashingtonJordan Walker-Pearlman The VisitRoss Klavan and Michael McGruther Tigerland2001Ghost World (2001) - MUBI Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff Ghost World Richard Kelly Donnie DarkoJohn Cameron Mitchell Hedwig and the Angry InchStephen M. Ryder, Michael Cuesta and Gerald Cuesta L.I.E.Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming The Anniversary Party2002 Erin Cressida Wilson Secretary Laura Cahill Hysterical BlindnessBurr Steers Igby Goes DownNeil Burger Interview with the AssassinHeather Juergensen and Jennifer Westfeldt Kissing Jessica Stein2003 Tom McCarthy The Station Agent Karen Moncrieff Blue CarPatty Jenkins MonsterPeter Sollett and Eva Vives Raising Victor VargasCatherine Hardwicke and Nikki Reed Thirteen2004 Joshua Marston Maria Full of Grace Rodney Evans Brother to BrotherZach Braff Garden StateShane Carruth PrimerMario de la Vega Robbing Peter2005 Duncan Tucker Transamerica Kenneth Hanes Fixing FrankAngus MacLachlan JunebugMiranda July Me and You and Everyone We KnowSabina Murray The Beautiful Country200614 Big Facts About 'Little Miss Sunshine' - Mental Floss Michael Arndt Little Miss Sunshine Dito Montiel A Guide to Recognizing Your SaintsGabrielle Zevin Conversations with Other WomenRyan Fleck and Anna Boden Half NelsonGoran Dukić Wristcutters: A Love Story2007JUNO|Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Diablo Cody Juno Jeffrey Blitz Rocket ScienceZoe Cassavetes Broken EnglishKelly Masterson Before the Devil Knows You're DeadJohn Orloff A Mighty Heart2008 Dustin Lance Black MilkPRIDE Film Series: MILK (2008) Seattle Gay Scene|Your Daily Gay in SeattleLance Hammer BallastCourtney Hunt Frozen RiverFrozen River (2008) - MUBIJonathan Levine The WacknessJenny Lumet Rachel Getting Married2009 Geoffrey Fletcher PreciousPrecious - Awards - IMDbSophie Barthes Cold SoulsScott Cooper Crazy HeartCherien Dabis AmreekaTom Ford and David Scearce A Single Man
2010s
YearRecipient(s)Film2010Tiny Furniture - Philadelphia Film Society Lena Dunham Tiny Furniture Robert Glaudini Jack Goes BoatingNik Fackler Lovely, StillDana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener MonogamyDiane Bell Obselidia2011 Will Reiser 50/50 Mike Cahill and Brit Marling Another EarthJ. C. Chandor Margin CallJ.C. Chandor - Awards - IMDbPatrick deWitt TerriPhil Johnston Cedar Rapids2012 Derek Connolly Safety Not Guaranteed Rama Burshtein Fill the VoidChristopher D. Ford Robot & FrankRashida Jones and Will McCormack Celeste and Jesse ForeverJonathan Lisecki Gayby2013 Bob Nelson Nebraska Lake Bell In a World...Joseph Gordon-Levitt Don JonJoey Soloway Afternoon DelightMichael Starrbury The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete2014Justin Simien '05 wins Independent Spirit Award || Best First Screenplay|Chapman Newsroom Justin Simien Dear White People Desiree Akhavan Appropriate BehaviorSara Colangelo Little AccidentsJustin Lader The One I LoveAnja Marquardt She's Lost Control 2015 Emma Donoghue RoomRoom - Awards - IMDb Jesse Andrews Me and Earl and the Dying GirlJonas Carpignano MediterraneaMarielle Heller The Diary of a Teenage GirlJohn Magary; Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph (story by) The Mend 2016Robert Eggers Wins Independent Spirit First Screenplay Award|IndieWire Robert Eggers The Witch Chris Kelly Other PeopleAdam Mansbach BarryStella Meghie Jean of the JonesesCraig Shilowich Christine 2017'The Big Sick' Wins Indie Spirit Award || Best First Screenplay|IndieWire Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani The Big Sick Kris Avedisian, Kyle Espeleta (story by), and Jesse Wakeman (story by) Donald CriedIngrid Jungermann Women Who KillKogonada ColumbusDavid Branson Smith & Matt Spicer Ingrid Goes West 2018 Bo Burnham Eighth Grade Christina Choe NancyCory Finley ThoroughbredsJennifer Fox The TaleLaurie & Quinn Shephard Blame 2019Film Independent Spirit Awards 2020:See the winners list|EW.com Fredrica Bailey and Stefon Bristol See You Yesterday Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen DrivewaysBridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy Blow the Man DownJocelyn Deboer and Dawn Luebbe Greener GrassJames Montague and Craig W. Sanger The Vast of Night
2020s YearRecipient(s)Film 20202021 Independent Spirit Awards Winner's List|IndieWire Andy Siara Palm Springs Kitty Green The Assistant Noah Hutton Lapsis Channing Godfrey Peoples Miss Juneteenth James Sweeney Straight Up2021 Michael Sarnoski and Vanessa Block Pig Sheldon D. Brown and Matthew Fifer Cicada Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. Wild Indian Shatara Michelle Ford Test Pattern Fran Kranz Mass2022 John Patton Ford Emily the Criminal Joel Kim Booster Fire Island Jamie Dack and Audrey Findlay, story by Jamie Dack Palm Trees and Power Lines K.D. Dávila Emergency Sarah DeLappe, story by Kristen Roupenian Bodies Bodies Bodies2023 Samy Burch; story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik May DecemberTomás Gómez Bustillo Chronicles of a Wandering Saint Laurel Parmet The Starling Girl Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, and Ben Platt Theater Camp Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez Upon Entry 2024 Sean Wang Dìdi Joanna Arnow The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed Annie Baker Janet Planet India Donaldson Good One Julio Torres Problemista2025Spirit Awards 2026 Nominations: Full List – VarietyAlex RussellLurkerAndrew DeYoungFriendshipElena OxmanOuterlandsSyreeta SingletonOne of Them DaysConstance TsangBlue Sun Palace
References