Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature

The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It is usually given to the director (or directors) and producer (or producers). The "first feature" designation is applied to the director not the producer(s). Therefore, producers have been nominated multiple times.

In 2000, this category was split into two separate categories: one for films with budgets over $500,000 and a new category, the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, which was restricted to films with budgets under $500,000. In 2001, films could be eligible regardless of their budget as long as it was feature film directorial debut.

Winners and nominees

1980s

• 1986: She's Gotta Have It – Spike Lee, director and producer
  • Belizaire the Cajun – Glen Pitre, director' Allan L. Durand, producer
  • A Great Wall – Peter Wang, director
  • Hoosiers – David Anspaugh, director; John Daly, Carter DeHaven, Derek Gibson and Angelo Pizzo, producers
  • True Stories – David Byrne, director; Gary Kurfirst, producer
• 1987: Dirty Dancing – Emile Ardolino, director; Linda Gottlieb, producer
  • Anna – Yurek Bogayevicz, director; Zanne Devine, producer
  • Hollywood Shuffle – Robert Townsend, director and producer; Carl Craig, producer
  • Siesta – Mary Lambert, director; Gary Kurfirst, producer
  • Waiting for the Moon – Jill Godmilow, director; Sandra Schulberg, producer
• 1988: Mystic Pizza – Donald Petrie, director; Mark Levinson and Scott M. Rosenfelt, producers
  • Border Radio – Allison Anders, Dean Lent and Kurt Voss; Marcus DeLeon, producer
  • The Chocolate War, Keith Gordon, director; Jonathan D. Krane, producer
  • The Prince of Pennsylvania – Ron Nyswaner, director; Jonathan D. Krane, producer
  • The Wash – Michael Toshiyuki Uno, director; Calvin Skaggs, producer
• 1989: Heathers – Michael Lehmann, director; Denise Di Novi, producer
  • 84 Charlie Mopic – Patrick Sheane Duncan, director; Michael Nolan, producer
  • Powwow Highway – Jonathan Wacks, director; Jan Wieringa, producer
  • Sidewalk Stories – Charles Lane, director; Howard M. Brickner, producer
  • Talking to Strangers – Rob Tregenza, director; J.K. Eareckson, producer

1990s

• 1990: Metropolitan – Whit Stillman, director and producer
  • House Party – Reginald Hudlin, director; Warrington Hudlin, producer
  • Lightning Over Braddock – Tony Buba, director and producer
  • The Natural History of Parking Lots – Everett Lewis, director; Aziz Ghazal, producer
  • Twister – Michael Almereyda, director; Wieland Schulz-Keil, producer
• 1991: Straight Out of Brooklyn – Matty Rich, director and producer
  • Chameleon Street – Wendell B. Harris Jr., director and producer
  • Poison – Todd Haynes, director; Christine Vachon, producer
  • The Rapture – Michael Tolkin, director; Karen Koch, Nancy Tenenbaum and Nick Wechsler, producers
  • Slacker – Richard Linklater, director and producer
• 1992: The Waterdance – Neal Jimenez and Michael Steinberg, directors; Gale Anne Hurd, Marie Cantin and Guy Riedel, executive producer
  • Laws of Gravity – Nick Gomez, director; Bob Gosse and Larry Meistrich, producers
  • My New Gun – Stacy Cochran, director; Michael Flynn, producer
  • Reservoir Dogs – Quentin Tarantino, director; Lawrence Bender, producer
  • Swoon – Tom Kalin, director; Christine Vachon, producer
• 1993: El Mariachi – Robert Rodriguez, director and producer; Carlos Gallardo, producer
  • American Heart – Martin Bell, director; Jeff Bridges and Rosilyn Heller, producers
  • Combination Platter – Tony Chan, director and producer; Judy Moy, producer
  • Mac – John Turturro, director; Brenda Goodman and Nancy Tenenbaum, producers
  • Menace II Society – Allen and Albert Hughes, directors; Darin Scott, producer
• 1994: Spanking the Monkey – David O. Russell, director; Dean Silvers, producer
  • Clean, Shaven – Lodge Kerrigan, director and producer
  • Clerks – Kevin Smith, director and producer; Scott Mosier, producer
  • I Like It Like That – Darnell Martin, director; Lane Janger, producer
  • Suture – David Siegel and Scott McGehee, directors and producers; Michele Petin, producer
• 1995: The Brothers McMullen – Edward Burns, director; Dick Fisher, producer
  • Kids – Larry Clark, director; Cary Woods, producer
  • Little Odessa – James Gray, director; Paul Webster, producer
  • Picture Bride – Kayo Hatta, director; Diane Mei Lin Mark and Lisa Onodera, producers
  • River of Grass – Kelly Reichardt, director
• 1996: Sling Blade – Billy Bob Thornton, director; David L. Bushell and Brandon Rosser, producers
  • Big Night – Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci, directors; Jonathan Filley, producer
  • I Shot Andy Warhol – Mary Harron, director; Tom Kalin and Christine Vachon, producers
  • Manny & Lo – Lisa Krueger, director; Marlen Hecht and Dean Silvers, producers
  • Trees Lounge – Steve Buscemi, director; Chris Hanley and Brad Wyman, producers
• 1997: Eve's Bayou – Kasi Lemmons, director; Caldecot Chubb and Samuel L. Jackson, producers
  • The Bible and Gun Club – Daniel J. Harris, director and producer
  • Hard Eight – Paul Thomas Anderson, director; Robert Jones and John S. Lyons, producers
  • In the Company of Men – Neil LaBute, director; Mark Archer and Stephen Pevner, producers
  • Star Maps – Miguel Arteta, director; Matthew Greenfield, producer
• 1998: The Opposite of Sex – Don Roos, director; David Kirkpatrick and Michael Besman, producers
  • Buffalo '66 – Vincent Gallo, director; Chris Hanley, producer
  • High Art – Lisa Cholodenko, director; Dolly Hall, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Susan A. Stover, producers
  • π – Darren Aronofsky, director; Eric Watson, producer
  • Slums of Beverly Hills – Tamara Jenkins, director; Michael Nozik and Stan Wlodkowski, producers
• 1999: Being John Malkovich – Spike Jonze, director; Michael Stipe, Sandy Stern, Steve Golin and Vincent Landay, producers
  • Boys Don't Cry – Kimberly Peirce, director; Jeffrey Sharp, John Hart, Eva Kolodner and Christine Vachon, producers
  • Three Seasons – Tony Bui, director; Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente, producers
  • Twin Falls Idaho – Michael Polish, director; Marshall Persinger, Rena Ronson and Steven J. Wolfe, producers
  • Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl – Joan Chen, director and producer; Wai-Chung Chan, producer

2000s

NOTE: Beginning in 2000, nominees were restricted to film with budgets over $500,000. The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award awarded first features that had budgets of less than $500,000.

• 2000: You Can Count on Me – Kenneth Lonergan, director; John Hart, Jeffrey Sharp, Barbara De Fina and Larry Meistrich, producers
  • Boiler Room – Ben Younger, director; Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd, producers
  • Girlfight – Karyn Kusama, director; Maggie Renzi, Sarah Green and Martha Griffin, producers.
  • Love & Basketball – Gina Prince-Bythewood, director; Spike Lee and Sam Kitt, producers
  • The Visit – Jordan Walker-Pearlman, director and producer
• 2001: In the Bedroom – Todd Field, director
  • The Anniversary Party – Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, directors
  • The Believer – Henry Bean, director
  • Donnie Darko – Richard Kelly, director
  • Ghost World – Terry Zwigoff, director
• 2002: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys – Peter Care, director
  • Interview with the Assassin – Neil Burger, director
  • Manito – Eric Eason, director
  • Paid in Full – Charles Stone III, director
  • Roger Dodger – Dylan Kidd, director
• 2003: Monster – Patty Jenkins, director; Mark Damon, Donald Kushner, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron and Brad Wyman, producers
  • Bomb the System – Adam Bhala Lough, director; Ben Rekhi and Sol Tryon, producers
  • House of Sand and Fog – Vadim Perelman, director and producer; Michael London, producer
  • Quattro Noza – Joey Curtis, director; Fredric King, producer
  • Thirteen – Catherine Hardwicke, director; Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Michael London, producers
• 2004: Garden State – Zach Braff, director; Pamela Abdy, Gary Gilbert, Dan Halsted and Richard Klubeck, producers
  • Brother to Brother – Rodney Evans, director and producer; Jim McKay, Isen Robbins and Aimee Schoof, producers
  • Napoleon Dynamite – Jared Hess, director; Jeremy Coon, Sean Covel and Chris Wyatt, producers
  • Saints and Soldiers – Ryan Little, director and producer; Adam Abel, producer
  • The Woodsman – Nicole Kassell, director; Lee Daniels, producer
• 2005: Crash – Paul Haggis, director and producer; Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris and Bobby Moresco, producers
  • Lackawanna Blues – George C. Wolfe, director; Halle Berry, Vince Cirrincione, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Nellie Nugiel and Shelby Stone
  • Me and You and Everyone We Know – Miranda July, director; Gina Kwon, producer
  • Thumbsucker – Mike Mills, director; Anthony Bregman and Bob Stephenson, producers
  • Transamerica – Duncan Tucker, director; Sebastian Dungan, Linda Moran and Rene Bastian, producers
• 2006: Sweet Land – Ali Selim, director; Alan Cumming and James Bigham, producers
  • Day Night Day Night – Julia Loktev, director; Melanie Judd and Jessica Levin, producers
  • Man Push Cart – Ramin Bahrani, director; Pradip Ghosh and Bedford T. Bentley, producers
  • The Motel – Michael Kang, director; Matthew Greenfield, Miguel Arteta, Gina Kwon and Karin Chien, producers
  • Wristcutters: A Love Story – Goran Dukić, director; Adam Sherman, Chris Coen, Tatiana Kelly and Mikal P. Lazarev, producers
• 2007: The Lookout – Scott Frank, director; Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark and Walter F. Parkes, producers
  • 2 Days in Paris – Julie Delpy, director; Christophe Mazodier and Thierry Potok, producers
  • Great World of Sound – Craig Zobel, director and producer; Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green and Richard A. Wright, producers
  • Rocket Science – Jeffrey Blitz, director; Effie Brown and Sean Welch, producers
  • Vanaja – Rajnesh Domalpalli, director; Latha R. Domalapalli, producer
• 2008: Synecdoche, New York – Charlie Kaufman, director and producer; Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze and Sidney Kimmel, producers
  • Afterschool – Antonio Campos, director; T. Sean Durkin and Josh Mond, producers
  • Medicine for Melancholy – Barry Jenkins, director; Justin Barber, producer
  • Sangre de Mi Sangre – Christopher Zalla, director; Per Melita and Ben Odell, producers
  • Sleep Dealer – Alex Rivera, director; Anthony Bregman, producer
• 2009: Crazy Heart – Scott Cooper, director and producer; Robert Duvall, Rob Carliner, Judy Cairo and T-Bone Burnett, producers
  • Easier with Practice – Kyle Patrick Alvarez, director; Cookie Carosella, producer
  • The Messenger – Oren Moverman, director; Mark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee and Zach Miller, producers
  • Paranormal Activity – Oren Peli, director and producer; Jason Blum, producer
  • A Single Man – Tom Ford, director and producer; Chris Weitz, Andrew Miano and Robert Salerno, producers

2010s

• 2010: Get Low – Aaron Schneider, director; Dean Zanuck and David Gundlach, producers
  • Everything Strange and New – Frazer Bradshaw, director; Laura Techera Francia and A.D. Liano, producers
  • The Last Exorcism – Daniel Stamm, director; Eric Newman, Eli Roth, Marc Abraham and Thomas A. Bliss, producers
  • Night Catches Us – Tanya Hamilton, director; Ronald Simon, Sean Costello and Jason Orans, producers
  • Tiny Furniture – Lena Dunham, director; Kyle Martin and Alicia Van Couvering, producers
• 2011: Margin Call – J. C. Chandor, director; Joe Jenckes, Robert Ogden Barnum, Corey Moosa, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson and Zachary Quinto, producers
  • Another Earth – Mike Cahill, director; Hunter Gray, Mike Cahill, Brit Marling and Nicholas Shumaker, producers
  • In the Family – Patrick Wang, director; Patrick Wang, Andrew van den Houten and Robert Tonino, producers
  • Martha Marcy May Marlene – Sean Durkin, director; Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Chris Maybach and Patrick Cunningham, producers
  • Natural Selection – Robbie Pickering, director; Brion Hambell and Paul Jensen, producers
• 2012: The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky, director
  • Fill the Void – Rama Burshtein, director
  • Gimme the Loot – Adam Leon, director
  • Safety Not Guaranteed – Colin Trevorrow, director
  • Sound of My Voice – Zal Batmanglij, director
• 2013: Fruitvale Station – Ryan Coogler, director
  • Blue Caprice – Alexandre Moors, director
  • Concussion – Stacie Passon, director
  • Una Noche – Lucy Mulloy, director
  • Wadjda – Haifaa al-Mansour, director
• 2014: Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy, director
  • Dear White People – Justin Simien, director
  • A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night – Ana Lily Amirpour, director
  • Obvious Child – Gillian Robespierre, director
  • She's Lost Control – Anja Marquardt, director
• 2015: The Diary of a Teenage Girl – Marielle Heller, director; Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, and Madeline Samit, producers
  • James White – Josh Mond, director; Max Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, and Eric Schultz, producers
  • Manos Sucias – Josef Kubota Wladyka, director; Elena Greenlee and Márcia Nunes, producers
  • Mediterranea – Jonas Carpignano, director; Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, and Ryan Zacarias, producers
  • Songs My Brother Taught Me – Chloé Zhao, director/producer; Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, and Forest Whitaker, producers