The Film Independent's Spirit Awards likes to call itself "the yin to the Oscars' yang." In case you miss the juxtapostion, the ceremony is held every year on the Saturday directly preceding Oscar night. Even so, as you scan the list, you can see that the films honored during the early years of the indie boom in the mid to late 80s were truly independent. As time scoots by, you begin to see more overlapping between the movie industry's yin and yang.

The Awards were founded in 1984 and the first round was given out two years later. Quite a remarkable growth curve after that: In March 2002, the ceremony was hosted by John Waters and attended by 1300 guests, 350 journalists and loads and loads of stars. The fact that the Awards are sponsored by the Independent Film Channel and Entertainment Weekly, among others, surely helps attract those as anxious to be seen as to see. IFP alone reaches 33 million households; it is then broadcast on Bravo to reach another 53 million. Little indie film is all grown up now.

Note: Below are the most recent winners; click on to see the results of the years 1986 through 1997.

2007

Little Miss Sunshine: Best Feature
Best Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Best First Screenplay: Michael Arndt
Best Supporting Male: Alan Arkin, Actor

Day Night Day Night
IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award
Julia Loktev, Writer/Director

Friends With Money
Best Supporting Female: Frances McDormand

Half Nelson
Best Female Lead: Shareeka Epps
Best Male Lead: Ryan Gosling

Inland Empire
Special Distinction Award
Laura Dern, Actor; David Lynch, Writer/Director/Producer

Pan's Labyrinth
Best Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro

Quinceañera
John Cassavetes Award

Sweet Land
Best First Feature

Thank You For Smoking
Best Screenplay
Jason Reitman

The Lives of Others
Best Foreign Film
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Director

The Road to Guantanamo
Best Documentary
Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross, Directors

2006

BEST FEATURE
Brokeback Mountain

BEST DIRECTOR
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain

BEST SCREENPLAY
Dan Futterman, Capote

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Paul Haggis, Crash

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Duncan Tucker, Transamerica

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (For the Best Feature made for under $500,000)
Conventioneers (Director: Mora Stephens)

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Amy Adams, Junebug

BEST MALE LEAD
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matt Dillon, Crash

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Robert Elswit, Good Night, and Good Luck.

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Paradise Now

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

2005

BEST FEATURE
Sideways

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Garden State

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Mean Creek

BEST DIRECTOR
Alexander Payne for Sideways

BEST SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for Sideways

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Joshua Marston for Maria Full of Grace

BEST MALE LEAD
Paul Giamatti for Sideways

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Catalina Sandino Moreno for Maria Full of Grace

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Virginia Madsen for Sideways

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Thomas Haden Church for Sideways

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Rodrigo de la Serna for The Motorcycle Diaries

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Éric Gautier for The Motorcycle Diaries

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Sea Inside, directed by Alejandro Ameábar

BRAVO / AMERICAN EXPRESS PRODUCERS AWARD
Gina Kwon

TURNING LEAF SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Jem Cohen for Chain

DIRECTV / IFC TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman for Born Into Brothels

2004

BEST FEATURE
Lost in Translation

BEST DIRECTOR
Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation

BEST SCREENPLAY
Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Monster, directed by Patty Jenkins

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Thomas McCarthy for The Station Agent

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
For the Best Feature made for under $500,000
The Station Agent

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Nikki Reed in Thirteen

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Shohreh Aghdashloo in House of Sand and Fog

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Djimon Hounsou in In America

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Charlize Theron in Monster

BEST MALE LEAD
Bill Murray in Lost in Translation

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Declan Quinn for In America

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Whale Rider, directed by Niki Caro

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Fog of War, directed by Errol Morris

PRODUCERS AWARD
Mary Jane Skalski, producer of The Station Agent and The Jimmy Show

TURNING LEAF SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Andrew Bujalski, director of Funny Ha Ha

DIRECTV/IFC TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk, directors of Lost Boys of Sudan

SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
21 Grams
Director Alejandro González Iñárritu
Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga
Producer Robert Salerno
Sean Penn
Benicio Del Toro
Naomi Watts

2003

BEST FEATURE
Far From Heaven

BEST FIRST FEATURE
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes, for Far From Heaven

BEST SCREENPLAY
Mike White, The Good Girl

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Erin Cressida Wilson, Secretary

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven

BEST MALE LEAD
Derek Luke, Antwone Fisher

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emily Mortimer, Lovely & Amazing

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Dennis Quaid, Far From Heaven

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Nia Vardalos, My Big Fat Greek Wedding

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Y Tu Mama Tambien

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Bowling for Columbine

2002

BEST FIRST FEATURE
In The Bedroom

BEST FEATURE
Memento

BEST DIRECTOR (First-time filmmakers not eligible)
Christopher Nolan for Memento

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Paul Franklin Dano for L.I.E.

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Sissy Spacek for In the Bedroom

BEST MALE LEAD
Tom Wilkinson for In The Bedroom

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Carrie-Anne Moss for Memento

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Steve Buscemi for Ghost World

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Amélie

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Dogtown and Z-Boys

2001

BEST FIRST FEATURE
You Can Count On Me

BEST FEATURE
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

BEST DIRECTOR
Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Michelle Rodriguez for Girlfight

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Ellen Burstyn for Requiem for a Dream

BEST MALE LEAD
Javier Bardem for Before Night Falls

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Zhang Ziyi for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Willem Dafoe for Shadow of the Vampire

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Dancer in the Dark

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Dark Days

2000

BEST FIRST FEATURE (under $500,000)
The Blair Witch Project

BEST FIRST FEATURE (over $500,000)
Being John Malkovich

BEST FEATURE
Election

BEST DIRECTOR
Alexander Payne for Election

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Kimberly J. Brown for Tumbleweeds

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Hilary Swank for Boys Don't Cry

BEST MALE LEAD
Richard Farnsworth for The Straight Story

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Chloe Sevigny for Boys Don't Cry

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Steve Zahn for Happy, Texas

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Run Lola Run

1999

BEST FIRST FEATURE
The Opposite of Sex

BEST FEATURE
Gods and Monsters

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson for Rushmore

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Evan Adams for Smoke Signals

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Lynn Redgrave for Gods and Monsters

BEST SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE
Bill Murray for Rushmore

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Ally Sheedy for High Art

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Ian McKellen for Gods and Monsters

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Celebration

1998

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Eve's Bayou

BEST FEATURE
The Apostle

BEST DIRECTOR
Robert Duvall for The Apostle

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Aaron Eckhart for In the Company of Men

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Julie Christie for Afterglow

BEST MALE LEAD
Robert Duvall for The Apostle

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Debbi Morgan for Eve's Bayou

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Jason Lee for Chasing Amy

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Sweet Hereafter

Now click on to see the winners from 1986 through 1997.