Film Terbaik (Independent Spirit Award)

Pemenang dan nominee

1980an

• 1985: After Hours (Warner Bros.) – Martin Scorsese
  • Blood Simple (Circle Films) – Joel Coen dan Ethan Coen
  • Smooth Talk
  • The Trip to Bountiful
• 1986: Platoon † (Orion) – Oliver Stone
  • Blue Velvet – David Lynch
  • Down by Law
  • On Valentine's Day
  • Salvador – Oliver Stone
  • Stand by Me (Columbia) – Rob Reiner
• 1987: River's Edge (Island Pictures) – Tim Hunter
  • The Big Easy
  • The Dead – John Huston
  • Matewan
  • Swimming to Cambodia – Jonathan Demme
  • Tough Guys Don't Dance (Cannon) – Norman Mailer
• 1988: Stand and Deliver (Warner Bros.) – Ramon Menendez
  • Hairspray (New Line Cinema) – John Waters
  • Patti Rocks
  • The Thin Blue Line
  • Torch Song Trilogy (New Line Cinema)
• 1989: Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Miramax) – Steven Soderbergh
  • Drugstore Cowboy – Gus Van Sant
  • Heat and Sunlight
  • Mystery Train
  • True Love

1990an

• 1990: The Grifters (Miramax) – Stephen Frears
  • Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
  • The Plot Against Harry
  • Pump Up the Volume (New Line Cinema)
  • To Sleep with Anger
• 1991: Rambling Rose – Martha Coolidge
  • City of Hope
  • Hangin' with the Homeboys
  • Homicide
  • My Own Private Idaho (Fine Line Features) – Gus Van Sant
• 1992: The Player (Fine Line Features) – Robert Altman
  • Bad Lieutenant – Abel Ferrara
  • Gas Food Lodging
  • Mississippi Masala
  • One False Move – Carl Franklin
• 1993: Short Cuts (Fine Line Features) – Robert Altman
  • Equinox
  • Much Ado About Nothing (Samuel Goldwyn Company) – Kenneth Branagh
  • Ruby in Paradise
  • The Wedding Banquet
• 1994: Pulp Fiction ‡ (Miramax) – Quentin Tarantino
  • Bullets over Broadway (Miramax) – Woody Allen
  • Eat Drink Man Woman
  • Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (Fine Line Features)
  • Wes Craven's New Nightmare (New Line Cinema) – Wes Craven
• 1995: Leaving Las Vegas (United Artists) – Mike Figgis
  • The Addiction
  • Living in Oblivion
  • Safe
  • The Secret of Roan Inish (Sony Pictures Classics) – John Sayles
• 1996: Fargo ‡ (PolyGram) – Joel Coen
  • Dead Man (Miramax) – Jim Jarmusch
  • The Funeral
  • Lone Star (Columbia / Castle Rock) – John Sayles
  • Welcome to the Dollhouse (Sony Pictures Classics)
• 1997: The Apostle (October Films) – Robert Duvall
  • Chasing Amy (Miramax) – Kevin Smith
  • Loved
  • Ulee's Gold (Orion)
  • Waiting for Guffman (Columbia / Castle Rock) – Christopher Guest
• 1998: Gods and Monsters – Bill Condon
  • Affliction – Paul Schrader
  • Claire Dolan
  • A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
  • Velvet Goldmine
• 1999: Election (Paramount) – Alexander Payne
  • Cookie's Fortune (October Films) – Robert Altman
  • The Limey – Steven Soderbergh
  • The Straight Story (Disney) – David Lynch
  • Sugar Town

2000an

Tahun	Pemenang	Perusahaan distribusi	Sutradara
2000	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ‡	Sony Pictures Classics	Ang Lee
	Before Night Falls	Fine Line Features	Julian Schnabel
	George Washington	ContentFilm International	David Gordon Green
	Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai	Artisan Entertainment	Jim Jarmusch
	Requiem for a Dream		Darren Aronofsky
2001	Memento	Newmarket Films	Christopher Nolan
	Hedwig and the Angry Inch	Fine Line Features	John Cameron Mitchell
	L.I.E.	New Yorker Films	Michael Cuesta
	Things Behind the Sun	Showtime Networks	Allison Anders
	Waking Life	Fox Searchlight	Richard Linklater
2002	Far from Heaven	Focus Features	Todd Haynes
	The Good Girl	Fox Searchlight	Miguel Arteta
	Lovely & Amazing	Lions Gate Films	Nicole Holofcener
	Secretary		Steven Shainberg
	Tully	Telltale Films	Hilary Birmingham
2003	Lost in Translation ‡	Focus Features	Sofia Coppola
	American Splendor	HBO Films	Shari Springer Berman dan Robert Pulcini
	In America	Fox Searchlight	Jim Sheridan
	Raising Victor Vargas	Samuel Goldwyn Films	Peter Sollett
	Shattered Glass	Lions Gate Films	Billy Ray
2004	Sideways ‡	Fox Searchlight	Alexander Payne
	Baadasssss!	Sony Pictures Classics	Mario Van Peebles
	Kinsey	Fox Searchlight	Bill Condon
	Maria Full of Grace	Fine Line Features	Joshua Marston
	Primer	THINKFilm	Shane Carruth
2005	Brokeback Mountain ‡	Focus Features	Ang Lee
	Capote ‡	Sony Pictures Classics	Bennett Miller
	Good Night, and Good Luck ‡	Warner Independent Pictures	George Clooney
	The Squid and the Whale	Samuel Goldwyn Films	Noah Baumbach
	The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada	Sony Pictures Classics	Tommy Lee Jones
2006	Little Miss Sunshine ‡	Fox Searchlight	Jonathan Dayton dan Valerie Faris
	American Gun	IFC Films	Aric Avelino
	The Dead Girl	First Look International	Karen Moncrieff
	Half Nelson	THINKFilm	Ryan Fleck
	Pan's Labyrinth	Picturehouse	Guillermo del Toro
2007	Juno ‡	Fox Searchlight	Jason Reitman
	The Diving Bell and the Butterfly	Miramax Films	Julian Schnabel
	I'm Not There	The Weinstein Company	Todd Haynes
	A Mighty Heart	Paramount Vantage	Michael Winterbottom
	Paranoid Park	IFC Films	Gus Van Sant
2008	The Wrestler	Fox Searchlight	Darren Aronofsky
	Ballast	Alluvial Film Company	Lance Hammer
	Frozen River	Sony Pictures Classics	Courtney Hunt
	Rachel Getting Married		Jonathan Demme
	Wendy and Lucy	Oscilloscope Pictures	Kelly Reichardt
2009	Precious ‡	Lionsgate	Lee Daniels
	(500) Days of Summer	Fox Searchlight	Marc Webb
	Amreeka	Virgil Films & Entertainment	Cherien Dabis
	The Last Station	Sony Pictures Classics	Michael Hoffman
	Sin Nombre	Focus Features	Cary Fukunaga

2010an

Tahun	Pemenang	Perusahaan distribusi	Sutradara
2010	Black Swan ‡	Fox Searchlight	Darren Aronofsky
	127 Hours ‡	Fox Searchlight	Danny Boyle
	Greenberg	Focus Features	Noah Baumbach
	The Kids Are All Right ‡		Lisa Cholodenko
	Winter's Bone ‡	Roadside Attractions	Debra Granik
2011	The Artist †	The Weinstein Company	Michel Hazanavicius
	50/50	Summit Entertainment	Jonathan Levine
	Beginners	Focus Features	Mike Mills
	The Descendants ‡	Fox Searchlight	Alexander Payne
	Drive	FilmDistrict	Nicolas Winding Refn
	Take Shelter	Sony Pictures Classics	Jeff Nichols
2012	Silver Linings Playbook ‡	The Weinstein Company	David O. Russell
	Beasts of the Southern Wild ‡	Fox Searchlight	Benh Zeitlin
	Bernie	Millennium Entertainment	Richard Linklater
	Keep the Lights On	Music Box Films	Ira Sachs
	Moonrise Kingdom	Focus Features	Wes Anderson
2013	12 Years a Slave †	Fox Searchlight	Steve McQueen
	All Is Lost	Lionsgate	J. C. Chandor
	Frances Ha	IFC Films	Noah Baumbach
	Inside Llewyn Davis	CBS Films	Joel Coen dan Ethan Coen
	Nebraska ‡	Paramount Vantage	Alexander Payne
2014	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) †	Fox Searchlight	Alejandro G. Iñárritu
	Boyhood ‡	IFC Films	Richard Linklater
	Love Is Strange	Sony Pictures Classics	Ira Sachs
	Selma ‡	Paramount Pictures	Ava DuVernay
	Whiplash ‡	Sony Pictures Classics	Damien Chazelle
2015	Spotlight †	Open Road Films	Tom McCarthy
	Anomalisa	Paramount Pictures	Charlie Kaufman dan Duke Johnson
	Beasts of No Nation	Bleecker Street	Cary Joji Fukunaga
	Carol	The Weinstein Company dan StudioCanal	Todd Haynes
	Tangerine	Magnolia Pictures	Sean Baker
2016	Moonlight †	A24	Barry Jenkins
	American Honey	A24	Andrea Arnold
	Chronic	Wild Bunch	Michel Franco
	Jackie	Fox Searchlight	Pablo Larraín
	Manchester by the Sea ‡	Roadside Attractions	Kenneth Lonergan
2017	Get Out ‡	Universal Pictures	Jordan Peele
	Call Me by Your Name ‡	Sony Pictures Classics	Luca Guadagnino
	The Florida Project	A24	Sean Baker
	Lady Bird ‡	A24	Greta Gerwig
	The Rider	Sony Pictures Classics	Chloé Zhao