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 |