2008 SPIRIT AWARDS CALL FOR ENTRIES, DATE ANNOUNCED

The Spirit Awards will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2008. Nominations to be announced on Tuesday, November 27, 2007.

LOS ANGELES, CA (August 8, 2007) - Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent, announced today that the 2008 Spirit Awards will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2008. Hudson also announced that nominations for the Spirit Awards will be released on Tuesday, November 27.
It was also announced that Film Independent is now accepting submissions for the 2008 Film Independent's Spirit Awards with the early deadline of Monday, September 17 and final deadline of Tuesday, October 9. The Spirit Awards is a celebration of independent filmmakers who bring a unique vision and a spirit of independence to filmmaking. Submission guidelines, application, and more information can be found at SpiritAwards.com. Submissions should be sent to Film Independent, Attention: Spirit Awards Nominations, 9911 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035.
This year's ceremony is sponsored by Premier Sponsors IFC, Netflix, and Axium International, Inc., as well as Principal Sponsor Pop Secret®. On 3 Productions will produce the Official 2008 Spirit Awards General Attendee Gift Bag and Presenter Gift Lounge. WireImage is the Official Photographer of the Spirit Awards. American Airlines is the Official Airline Partner of Film Independent.
The 2008 ceremony airs live on Saturday, February 23, 2008, on IFC (Independent Film Channel).
"For more than two decades, the Spirit Awards has established an important place in the independent film community and within the industry," said Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent. "We are proud to bring the entire film community together and celebrate artists and their unique vision to filmmaking."
Keeping with its roots and L.A. location, the Spirit Awards take place each year inside a beach-front tent in Santa Monica. Along with being a great party, the Spirit Awards ceremony brings together the top talent from independent film and Hollywood. Trophies are presented for the year's best achievements in independent film, with statues awarded for Best Feature, Best First Feature, the John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature made for under $500,000), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best First Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Documentary, and Best Foreign Film. For the first time ever, the Robert Altman Award will be given to one film's director and ensemble cast at the 2008 Spirit Awards.
As the first event to honor independent film exclusively, the Spirit Awards has made a name for itself as the premier awards event for the independent film community. Founded in 1984, the awards started out as the FINDIE ("Friends of Independents") Awards.
Spirit Awards winners are chosen by Film Independent members with voting privileges extended to IFP members. Eligible films must be at least 70 minutes long, and the cost of the completed film, including post-production, must be under $20 million. Films must have been shown in a commercial theater for at least one week between January 1 and December 31, 2007 or shown at one of the following festivals in 2007: the Los Angeles Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, New York, Sundance, Telluride, or Toronto.
The Spirit Awards Nominating Committee applies the following guidelines in making its selections:
1. Uniqueness of vision
2. Original, provocative subject matter
3. Economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost and individual compensation)
4. Percentage of financing from independent sources
The 2007 Spirit Awards were hosted by Sarah Silverman and winners included "Little Miss Sunshine," which won awards for Best Feature, Best Director (Jonathon Dayton & Valerie Faris), Best First Screenplay (Michael Arndt), and Best Supporting Male (Alan Arkin); "Sweet Land" for Best First Feature (Ali Selim); Shareeka Epps in "Half Nelson" for Best Female Lead; Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson" for Best Male Lead; "The Lives of Others" for Best Foreign Film; and "The Road to Guantanamo" for Best Documentary.

ABOUT THE SPIRIT AWARDS
Film Independent's Spirit Awards ceremony is sponsored by Premier Sponsors IFC, Netflix, Axium International, ELLE, AMC, and Piaget, as well as Principal Sponsors Acura, and Pop Secret. Casa Del Mar, Sheraton Delfina, and Shutters on the Beach are the Official Host Hotels. Wire Image is the Official Photographer of Film Independent. American Airlines is the Official Airline Partner of Film Independent.

Film Independent's Spirit Awards is a celebration honoring films made by filmmakers who embody independence and who dare to challenge the status quo. Televised in millions of homes and covered internationally by the press, the Spirit Awards has become the vanguard event in independent film, recognizing the achievements of independent filmmakers and promoting independent film to a wider audience.

Selected from more than 250 submissions, awards are given in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best Foreign Film, and Best Documentary.

Spirit Awards winners are chosen by Film Independent members with voting privileges extended to IFP members. Voters attend nominee screenings and view nominated films online through a partnership with B-Side before selecting Spirit Awards winners. Additionally, voters who are Netflix subscribers can still access already released nominated films on DVD.

For more information, go to SpiritAwards.com.

ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
Film Independent is a non-profit membership organization of filmmakers, film leaders and film lovers that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds the audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, film industry leader, or a film lover.

With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded film-lovers and artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent also offers free Filmmaker Labs for selected writers, directors, and producers; provides cut-rate services for filmmakers; and presents year-round networking opportunities. Film Independent's mentorship and job placement program, Project:Involve, pairs emerging culturally-diverse filmmakers with film industry professionals.

Film Independent produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international cinema, and the Spirit Awards, a celebration honoring films and filmmakers that embody independence and dare to challenge the status quo.

For more information or to become a member, visit FilmIndependent.org.

ABOUT B-SIDE
B-Side provides acquisition, marketing and distribution services to independent filmmakers, film festivals, and distributors. Through a patent-pending technology that powers the Web sites for more than 100 international film festivals, B-Side has assembled the world's largest audience focus group for the discovery of independent films.

Partnerships with distributors such as IFC provide access to worldwide audiences and commercial opportunity for films that would have previously fallen through the cracks of the traditional film distribution system.