In America picks up two Independent Spirit awards

Jim Sheridan's In America has been honoured at the Independent Spirit awards, picking up the best supporting actor award through Djimon Hounsou and best cinematography award through Declan Quinn.

Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola’s quirky film tale of friendship in Tokyo, dominated today’s Awards, winning best picture and three other prizes.

Coppola won directing and screenplay honours and her star, Bill Murray, was named best actor for his role as a has-been movie star shooting whiskey ads in Japan.

Charlize Theron won the best-actress award for playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, which also received the best first feature prize for director Patty Jenkins.

The supporting-actor honour went to Djimon Hounsou as an artist dying of AIDS in In America, while Shohreh Aghdashloo was named best supporting actress as a compassionate Iranian immigrant in House of Sand and Fog.

The Spirit Awards honour independent films at least partly financed outside the Hollywood studio system.

The 9,000 actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals who belong to the non-profit Independent Feature Project/Los Angeles vote on the winners.

All four acting winners are competing in their respective categories at Sunday’s Academy Awards, with Theron considered the front-runner for the lead-actress Oscar.

Lost in Translation is up for best picture, while Coppola has Oscar nominations for directing and original screenplay.

Nominees for the Oscars and Spirit Awards usually do not correspond to such a degree. Among last year’s Spirit Awards acting nominees, only one – best-actress winner Julianne Moore of “Far From Heaven” – also was nominated for an Oscar.

Other Spirit Award winners:

:: Best film shot for under 500,000 dollars: The Station Agent.

:: Best debut performance: Nikki Reed, thirteen.

:: Best first screenplay: Thomas McCarthy, The Station Agent.

:: Best foreign film: Whale Rider.

:: Best documentary: The Fog of War.

:: Best cinematography: Declan Quinn, In America.