In the last frenzy of major awards-giving before the Oscars, Oppenheimer has won the best theatrical feature prize at the Producers Guild of America (PGA) awards, while Past Lives dominated the Independent Spirit awards, winning best film and best director.
The award-winning film, Oppenheimer, is directed by Christopher Nolan and produced by Emma Thomas. This is the first film by Nolan to receive the prize, with his previous works Dunkirk, Inception, and The Dark Knight having been nominated. This win puts Oppenheimer in a strong position for the best picture Oscar. The Producers Guild of America (PGA) shares a large percentage of its voting pool with the Oscars, similar to other industry associations like the Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild. In fact, seven of the past ten winners of the PGA’s theatrical film award have also won the corresponding Academy award.
Succession and The Bear both continued to win awards, claiming best episodic TV honors in the drama and comedy categories respectively. Beef was also victorious in the best limited or anthology series category, while Black Mirror: Beyond the Sea took home the prize for best TV movie.
The Independent Spirit awards, established in 1984 as the Findie awards, recognize independent filmmakers. Celine Song’s praised film Past Lives was the recipient of the top two awards for best film and best director. The film American Fiction also received two awards, including best screenplay and best lead performance for Jeffrey Wright.
While the Independent Spirit awards exclude most Oscar contenders, Da’Vine Joy Randolph continued her near-unstoppable run to the Academy awards by winning best supporting performance for The Holdovers with Dominic Sessa, who was not Oscar nominated, winning best breakthrough performer for the same film. Among other notable winners, Fremont, from British-Iranian director Babak Jalali, was awarded the John Cassavetes prize for best feature film made for under $1m.
Source: theguardian.com
