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Oscars Represent Big Win for Indies

8 Mar, 2010 By: Billy Gil

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And the best picture goes to …  The Hurt Locker? Yes, in an upset too delicious for Hollywood to stand, Kathryn Bigelow’s $14.7 million box office indie trumped ex-hubby James Cameron’s $700 million plus Avatar for best picture, and made Bigelow the first-ever female recipient of the best director Oscar.

All kidding aside, this is a great thing for independent film. Summit Entertainment’s Hurt Locker is the 18th independent film to win best picture in the past 30 years, according to the Independent Film & Television Alliance. IFTA also said indies (excluding short films) took home 12 Academy Awards last night, compared with nine for the major studios.

“Tonight’s Academy Awards, capped by the triumph of The Hurt Locker, celebrate the diversity, quality and creativity of independent films, and are visible evidence that those films matter to our industry and our audiences,” said IFTA President-CEO Jean Prewitt. “We congratulate the artists, risk takers and entrepreneurs of the independent film community and our IFTA members for their extraordinary success this season.”

Besides the aforementioned, other indie winners were:

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Co., on DVD/Blu-ray from Universal)
 
Best Supporting Actress
Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (on DVD/Blu-ray March 9 from Lionsgate)
 
Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal (Voltage Pictures, on DVD/Blu-ray from Summit Entertainment)
 
Best Adapted Screenplay
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire - Geoffrey Fletcher
 
Best Foreign Language Film
El Secreto De Sus Ojos (from Argentina, not yet announced for DVD/Blu-ray in the United States)
 
Best Documentary Feature
The Cove (The Works, on DVD from Lionsgate)
 
Best Costume Design
The Young Victoria (GK Films, on DVD/Blu-ray April 20 from Sony Pictures)
 
Best Sound Editing
The Hurt Locker

Best Sound Mixing
The Hurt Locker
 
Best Film Editing
The Hurt Locker

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