SPIRIT AWARDS DOUBLES CHANCES WITH OSCAR - BIRDMAN AND BOYHOOD BOTH WIN BIG

Film Independent took the safe route once again with their 30th annual awards last night. Oscar frontrunners dominated, including what looks to be at least three of the four acting favourites taking home trophies. Birdman won Best Feature from voters, but they opted for Boyhood's Richard Linklater for Best Director, suggesting that tonight's duel between the two will indeed be very close. Check out their fine slate of nominees here, and their less-than-fine slate of award winners below:

Best Feature

Birdman (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan and James W. Skotchdopole)

Best Director

Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Best Male Lead

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Best Female Lead

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Best Supporting Male

J. K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Best Supporting Female

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Best Screenplay

Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)

Best Editing

Tom Cross (Whiplash)

Best Documentary

Citizenfour (Mathilde Bonnefoy, Laura Poitras and Dirk Wilutzky)

Best International Film

Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski) - Poland

Best First Feature

Nightcrawler (Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster and Michel Litvak)

Best First Screenplay

Justin Simien (Dear White People)

John Cassavetes Award

Land Ho! (Christina Jennings, Aaron Katz, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy and Martha Stephens)

18th Annual Piaget Producers Award

Chris Ohlson

21st Annual Kiehl's Someone to Watch Award

Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia (H.)

20th Annual Lenscrafters Truer Than Fiction Award

Dan Krauss (The Kill Team)

Robert Altman Award

Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro, Martin Donovan, Cassandra Kulukundis, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, Serena Scott Thomas, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon)

Special Distinction Award

Foxcatcher (Anthony Bregman, Steve Carell, Megan Ellison, E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman, Jon Kilik, Bennett Miller, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum)