Welcome to the Independent Spirit Awards Live Blog!  Your usual host Nathaniel is otherwise occupied. I’m Murtada hoping to take you through the next couple of hours in good spirits and minimal puns.

Refresh periodically for updates!

The show hosts today are Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon and  Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani. They gave a fun interview to Vanity Fair where they both admitted to being obsessed with awards shows growing up. Do you think they read The Film Experience?

McKinnon:

 "I have this notebook. I’m about 12 and I’ve got a notebook, and I watch all these shows and write down the winners in all of the categories. In every category at all the Oscars, the Globes, the Emmys. . . . Because I was really so interested in the entertainment industry.”

 Nanijani:

"I loved the Oscars and I had V.H.S. tapes for the Oscars, and I used to watch them over and over. There was probably one year where I watched it like 20 times or something.”

Read it when the commercials are on; it’s fun.

The nominations were led by Carol (6) and Beasts of No Nation (5). But if the last few years are any indication then Spolight, which scored 4 nominations, is the favorite since it's the only Oscar best picture nominee in the running. They really love the Oscars at Indie Spirits. 

However this year there are several categories that have 0 correlation with Oscar. So we are in for an unpredictable show. Hopefully.

Live commentary after the jump:

Let’s start with some blue carpet pics: first up Goddess, movie star and nominee Cate Blanchett.

Nominee Abraham Attah - Beasts of No Nation

Nominees Ben Mendelsohn (Mississippi Grind), Cynthia Nixon (James White) and Tom McCarthy with Rachel McAdams ( both from Spotlight).

This might be the hottest Mendelsohn ever looked. The grey hair suits him. On to the show........

5:00 - Show starts with a video play on the nominated films starring the hosts. Very heavy on the plot of Room. "Beasts of No Nation is too heavy" - first #oscarsowhite joke.

 5:14 - Best Supporting Male

Kevin Corrigan - Results, Paul Dano - Love & Mercy,  Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation, Richard Jenkins - Bone Tomahawk and Michael Shannon -99 Homes.

Prediction: Elba - he won a few awards recently; will this streak continue?

 

5: 22 Best First Screenplay

Jesse Andrews - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Jonas Carpignano - Mediterranea, Emma Donoghue - Room, Marielle Heller - The Diary of a Teenage Girl, John Magary - Russell Harbaugh, Myna Joseph- The Mend

Prediction: Room

... and the winner is Room. Jacob Tremblay presents Emma Donoghue with the award. Did you know Donoghue was gay? She thanks her wife from the stage.

5:28 Best Documentary

(T)error, Best of Enemies, Heart of a Dog, The Look of Silence, Meru, The Russian Woodpecker

Prediction: The Look of Silence

... and it is Joshua Oppenheimer for The Look of Silence. The producer thanks the Indonesian crew who have to remain anonymous for their safety.

 

Rooney Mara looks skeptical. Let's hope Carol wins something so we can see her smile.

5:35 Best First Feature

The Diary of a Teenage Girl, James White, Manos Sucias, Mediterranea, Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Prediction: The Diary of a Teenage Girl

... and we are right again! Diary of a Teenage Girl wins. Marielle Heller accepts the award. Calls Bel Powley "everyone's favorite new actress!".

5:40 Mark Ruffalo is on stage to wax poetic about the ensemble of Spotlight and present them with the Robert Atlman award. The award, announced before the show, goes to the cast, the director and the casting director.

5:50 Best Cinematography

Beasts of No Nation, Carol, It Follows, Meadlowland, Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Prediction: Carol which should win everything but will it win any?

... and the winner is Carol. Ed Lachman gets a standing ovation and pays tribute to Haynes, Nagy, and singles out Blanchett and Mara for "emotional frames with visual details". 

5:45 a very funny Carol spoof with McKinnon as Carol and Nanijani as an oblivious waiter who keeps interupting her seduction of Therese. 

6:09 John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000)

 Advantageous, Christmas, Again, Heaven Knows What, Krisha, Out of My Hand

Prediction: Heaven Knows What - because it’s the most well known of these. Krisha is fantastic and will be released next month don’t miss it.

... and Krisha wins. Very deserved. The director mentions that he made a movie in his mom's house, starring his aunt. How very indie!

6:18 Best Screenplay

Charlie Kaufman -Anomalisa, Donald Margulies - The End of the Tour, Phyllis Nagy - Carol, Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer- Spotlight, S. Craig Zahler - Bone Tomahawk

Prediction:Spotlight

.. it's Spotlight. McCarthy asks the real life reporters to stand up while naming them and they get a standing ovation. Singer singles out the only survivor in attendance Phil Saviano.

6:25 Kate McKinnon does a long unfunny characterization of a clueless indie film investor. Good thing it ends with her kissing Paul Dano; who's totally game.

6:30 Best International Film

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, Embrace of the Serpent, Girlhood, Mustang, Son of Saul

Prediction: Son of Saul

... and in an possible Oscar preview Son of Saul wins.

6:40 Best Supporting Female

Robin Bartlett - H., Marin Ireland - Glass Chin, Jennifer Jason Leigh - Anomalisa, Cynthia Nixon - James White, Mya Taylor - Tangerine

Prediction: Taylor

... and the winner is Taylor. Says "I feel fat" and gets a big laugh then proceeds to talk about being skeptical about Tangerine when she heard that it was being shot on iPhones. 

"There's very beautiful transgender talent".

6:54  Best Director

Sean Baker - Tangerine, Cary Joji Fukunaga - Beasts of No Nation, Todd Haynes - Carol, Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson - Anomalisa, Tom McCarthy - Spotlight, David Robert Mitchell - It Follows

Prediction: Todd Haynes

... and the winner is Tom McCarthy. Haynes has won this award before and Spotlight is a fine movie but it still stings. HARD. McCarthy mentions Haynes in his acceptance speech noting that he was always inspired by Haynes' work.

7:02 Best Male Lead

Christopher Abbott - James White, Abraham Attah- Beasts of No Nation, Ben Mendelsohn - Mississippi Grind, Jason Segel - The End of the Tour, Koudous Seihon - Mediterranea

Prediction: Jason Segel

.... and the winner is Attah. Fantastic! He gives the audience a big smile thanking his director and co-star.

7:09 Best Female Lead

Cate Blanchett - Carol, Brie Larson - Room, Rooney Mara - Carol, Bel Powley - The Diary of A Teenage Girl, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez - Tangerine

Prediction: Larson.

... and the winner is Larson. And so the season ends with Blanchett winning almost nothing for her best performance. At least the Online Film Critics chose her! Yep OFCS is the only award Blanchett won for Carol.

7:20 Best Feature

Anomalisa, Beasts of No Nation, Carol, Spotlight, Tangerine

Prediction: Spotlight

.. of course it's Spotlight. In the recent tradition of Silver Linnings Playbook and Birdman it really helps if the movie has Oscar traction to win here.

What do you think of these winners? If you are a bit heartbroken for Carol - like me - let's console each other in the comments.

Update: This moment from the show has since gone viral. Enjoy!

Gifs courtesy of Eden.