SANTA MONICA, Calif.: "Moonlight" triumphed at the Film Independent Spirit Awards with six wins on Saturday, besting grief drama "Manchester by the Sea" ahead of Sunday's Oscars ceremony. Molly Shannon accepts the award for best supporting female for "Other People"

Molly Shannon accepts the award for best supporting female for "Other People" Image Credit: AP

The cast and crew of "Moonlight" pose in the press room with their awards for best feature

The cast and crew of "Moonlight" pose in the press room with their awards for best feature Image Credit: AP

Best Male Lead winner Casey Affleck accepts his award for the film "Manchester by the Sea"

Best Male Lead winner Casey Affleck accepts his award for the film "Manchester by the Sea" Image Credit: REUTERS

Cast and crew of The Witch with their award for Best First Feature. This image released by A24 Films shows Mahershala Ali, left, and Alex Hibbert in a scene from, “Moonlight.” Ali is nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor for his work in “Moonlight.” This image released by A24 Films shows Mahershala Ali, left, and Alex Hibbert in a scene from, “Moonlight.” Ali is nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor for his work in “Moonlight.” This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Meryl Streep in a scene from “Florence Foster Jenkins.” Streep was nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, for her work in the film. The Independent Spirit Awards, held on California’s Santa Monica Beach on the day before Hollywood’s glitzy Oscars ceremony, honor the year’s best achievements in independent film made on small budgets. Click inside for the list of winners…

BEST FEATURE

 “American Honey”

 “Chronic”

 “Jackie”

 “Manchester by the Sea”

 “Moonlight” – WINNER

BEST FIRST FEATURE

 “The Childhood of a Leader”

 “The Fits”

 “Other People”

 “Swiss Army Man”

 “The Witch” – WINNER

BEST MALE LEAD

 Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” – WINNER

 David Harewood, “Free In Deed”

 Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”

 Jesse Plemons, “Other People”

 Tim Roth, “Chronic”

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

 Ralph Fiennes, “A Bigger Splash”

 Ben Foster, “Hell or High Water” – WINNER

 Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”

 Shia LaBeouf, “American Honey”

 Craig Robinson, “Morris from America”

BEST SCREENPLAY

 Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight” (story by Tarell Alvin McCraney) – WINNER

 Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

 Mike Mills, “20th Century Women”

 Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, “Little Men”

 Taylor Sheridan, “Hell or High Water”

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

 Robert Eggers, “The Witch” – WINNER

 Chris Kelly, “Other People”

 Adam Mansbach, “Barry”

 Stella Meghie, “Jean of the Joneses”

 Craig Shilowich, “Christine”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

 Ava Berkofsky, “Free In Deed”

 Lol Crawley, “The Childhood of a Leader”

 Zach Kuperstein, “The Eyes of My Mother”

 James Laxton, “Moonlight” – WINNER

 Robbie Ryan, “American Honey”

BEST EDITING

 Matthew Hannam, “Swiss Army Man”

 Jennifer Lame, “Manchester by the Sea”

 Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, “Moonlight” – WINNER

 Jake Roberts, “Hell or High Water”

 Sebastián Sepúlveda, “Jackie”

BEST DOCUMENTARY

 “13th”

 “Cameraperson”

 “I Am Not Your Negro”

 “O.J. "La La Land" — WINNER

"Passengers"

Best visual effects

"Deepwater Horizon"

"Doctor Strange"

"The Jungle Book" — WINNER

"Kubo and the Two Strings"

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

Best film editing

"Arrival"

"Hacksaw Ridge" — WINNER

"Hell or High Water"

"La La Land"

"Moonlight"

Best live action short film

"Ennemis Interieurs"

"La Femme et le TGV"

"Silent Nights"

"Sing" — WINNER

"Timecode"

Best documentary short subject

"Extremis"

"4.1 Miles"

"Joe's Violin"

"Watani: My Homeland"

"The White Helmets" — WINNERS

Best cinematography

"Arrival"

"La La Land" — WINNER

"Lion"

"Moonlight"

"Silence"

Best original score

"La La Land" — WINNER

"Lion"

"Jackie"

"Moonlight"

"Passengers"

Best original song

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" — "La La Land"

"Can't Stop the Feeling" — "Trolls"

"City of Stars" — "La La Land" — WINNER

"The Empty Chair" — "Jim: The James Foley Story"

"How Far I'll Go" — "Moana"

Best original screenplay

"Hell or High Water"

"La La Land"

"The Lobster"

"Manchester by the Sea" — WINNER

"20th Century Women"

#Oscar for Best Original Screenplay goes to ‘Manchester by the Sea.’ #Oscars pic.twitter.com/gEyfZbFNHm — Good Morning America (@GMA) February 27, 2017

Best adapted screenplay

"Arrival"

"Fences"

"Hidden Figures"

"Lion"

"Moonlight" — WINNER

"This goes out to all those...who don't see themselves...this is for you." Casey Affleck, who won for his lead role as a grieving janitor in “Manchester by the Sea,” used his acceptance speech to say “the policies of this administration are abhorrent and they won’t last.”

French star Isabelle Huppert was named best actress for playing a woman who pursues her rapist in “Elle.”

“I’ve made so many independent films and I think it’s independence that makes art win,” Huppert said. You’ll never again hear Queen of the Night in Mozart’s “Magic Flute” the same way after Streep’s rendition (“to pierce with sound”) in “Florence Foster Jenkins.” I smiled to myself as I wrote that sentence; Streep is that good.
Casey Affleck wins the Best Actor for his role in Manchester by the Sea, which also won Best Original Screenplay.