2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards: Michelle Yeoh left SPEECHLESS after Lead Performance win

The 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards were held on the sandy shores near the iconic Santa Monica pier on Saturday, March 4, and Michelle Yeoh was left speechless after winning Best Lead Performance.

The star, 60, was the recipient of the honor for her portrayal of Evelyn in the science fiction film Everything Everywhere All At Once, which won a whopping total of seven awards during the ceremony. 

The beauty has already accepted a Golden Globe and a SAG award last month for her incredible performance, and became the first Malaysian actress to receive an Oscars nomination, after garnering a Best Actress nod. 

Wearing an elegant, blue dress with large, ruffled embellishments, the actress stepped onto the stage and quickly became emotional as she looked out towards her fellow cast and the cheering audience. 

‘Thank you. This is from my peers who are in it with me from day one, so, it is so special,’ she movingly expressed. ‘Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.’

For a few brief moments, Michelle placed a hand to her lips as she quietly looked out at the crowd and turned away from the microphone, at a loss of what to say. 

The actress then continued to express her utmost gratitude to all who were involved in the successful project.  

‘I think none of us indie filmmakers would be here without out heroes, and our hero for Everything Everywhere All At Once, A24, Ley Line, you believed in us. You believed in the masterpiece from the Daniels.’ 

She thanked both Kwan and Scheinert, calling them ‘my boys,’ and stated, ‘thank you for writing such an incredible script that gave us the opportunity to be here, to be seen, and to be heard.’ 

Ke Huy Quan took home the first big award for Best Supporting Performance. The actor, 51, was the recipient of the honor for his portrayal of Waymond Wang in the science fiction film Everything Everywhere All At Once. 

The Goonies alumnus, who recently shed tears while giving an emotional speech after the historic SAG win earlier last month, excitedly took the stage to accept the Spirit Award in front of the celebrity guests. 

After receiving the award for The White Lotus actress, Aubrey Plaza, Quan movingly gushed on stage, ‘This is incredible!’ He continued, ‘I am so incredibly proud to be a part of the Everything Everywhere All At Once family,’ and continued to thank not only the cast, but also the crew involved on the project.  

Towards the end of his speech, Ke Huy Quan expressed that he was ‘overwhelmed by the outpowering love’ both he and the film has received since its release. ‘Thank you so much Film Independent.’ 

The star-studded cast also includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, James Hong and also Jenny Slate. 

The premise follows, ‘A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led,’ according to an IMDB synopsis.   

The 2023 Independent Film Awards were broadcasted live only via streaming and not on the IFC network, a first since 1997. 

Another change that was implemented for the 38th annual awards show was making the acting categories gender-neutral, such as Best Lead and Best Supporting Performances. 

Best Screenplay, presented by Jamie Lee Curtis herself, also went to Everything Everywhere All At Once. 

The screenwriters, Daniel Kwan and also Daniel Scheinert, happily stepped up onto the stage to express their gratitude for the honor. 

The duo gushed to the audience that their hard work wasn’t what entirely led to their success, but also the amazing ‘community’ in the entertainment industry.  

Best Director went to both Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All At Once, who previously were awarded Best Screenplay earlier in the ceremony.

The duo emphasized the importance of being extroverted and meeting people who could possibly lead to fulfilling a passion project. ‘I’m serious, meet your people tonight!’ Kwan stated. 

Another win for Everything Everywhere All At Once went to Stephanie Hsu for Best Breakthrough Performance for her portrayal of Joy in the critically acclaimed sci-fi film. 

The actress hilariously ran onto the stage barefoot while holding her stylish, black heels in her hand. 

She gave a tearful speech, and gushed, ‘Thank you so much! I don’t know why I am so emotional. I guess I have a bad habit of playing it cool. I guess I don’t feel cool inside. I feel overflowing with so much gratitude.’

‘I came from the world of downtown experimental theater and it is one my biggest, biggest prides to be from that community of knowing how to make something out of nothing, knowing how to support one another, doing it just because you love doing it, and so I feel so honored.’ 

Stephanie continued, ‘This is my first ever individual award and it feels…it feels incredibly appropriate that it is in this room. And I feel so honored.’ 

The beauty also took time to thank the cast she had worked with for being ‘incredibly supportive.’ 

To conclude the ceremony, Everything Every All At Once took home the Best Feature Award, one week before the 95th Annual Oscars airs on March 12. The movie notably received 11 nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture. 

Other projects included in the Best Feature were movies such as Aftersun, Bones And All, and also Tár. 

Daniel Kwan stepped in front of the microphone, and gave a shout out to all the creative talent in the room.

‘What we have all done is almost an impossible task. We all made an independent film or television series during a pandemic, and you should all be applauded for that.’ 

For the film’s whopping seventh win, Peter Rogers was honored with the Best Editing award. 

He explained that the Daniels had ‘taught me that the movie doesn’t come first-the people come first. And I think that is a great lesson I will take forward with me forever.’ 

The Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series went to Ayo Edebiri for her role as Sydney in the hit series, which was both her first win and nomination at the Spirit Awards held on Saturday. 

She humorously began her acceptance speech with, ‘I didn’t really prepare any remarks and my manager gave me a piece of paper.’ 

‘I just want say I am very grateful,’ the star added. ‘This really nice because I am in a room full of a lot of people that I really admire and that I look up to. But there are also a lot of people that look like me, and feel like me. And that’s really nice.’ 

The Bear was also given the award of Best New Scripted Series, which starred not only Ayo, but also Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Abby Elliot. 

The premise of the hit FX series follows, ‘A young chef from the fine dining world returns to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop,’ according to an IMDB synopsis. 

Other nominees that were included in the category were shows such as: Pachinko, The Porter, Severance and Station Eleven. 

Best Documentary of the Year was given to All The Beauty And The Bloodshed, which follows, ‘the life of artist Nan Goldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty who was greatly responsible for the opioid epidemic’s unfathomable death toll, according to IMDB. 

The director of the documentary was Laura Poitras and other contenders were All That Breathes, A House Made Of Splinters, Midwives, and also Riotsville, U.S.A. 

Laura accepted the award, which was both her fourth nomination and her second win at the Spirit Awards. 

‘I’m so proud to be here on behalf of our small organization pain and the incredibly courageous Nan Goldin for taking on the Sackler family. The Sackler’s have done untold damage to this country, however, there is hope.’ 

‘We have drug use led grassroots movement on the ground who know that the solution to the overdose crisis is harm reduction and overdose prevention centers.’ 

Best First Feature was awarded to Aftersun, which starred Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, and Celia Rowlson-Hall. 

The film, which was directed by Charlotte Wells, follows the premise of, ‘Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier.’ 

‘Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t…,’ according to IMDB.  

Charlotte ‘Charlie’ gave a heartfelt speech as she held the award in front of the cheering audience, and a few supportive cast members who stood closely behind. 

‘Thank you Paul and Frankie,’ the director began. ‘We’ve come a long way since that first Zoom. We all looked a lot younger in lots of different ways. And I am so grateful that we have been able to experience this first all together.’  

The next big category of the show went to Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series which went to Abbot Elementary’s Quinta Brunson. 

Wearing an eye-catching, yellow dress, the actress stepped onto the stage and expressed, ‘I’m so so honored to win this because of the spirit of my show and all that goes into it.’ 

‘We have a bunch of people who come from making things out of nothing. And my show, Abbot Elementary, is made by people who make something out of nothing every day.’ 

She added, ‘I do want to dedicate this award to whatever kid is out there right now who is making a video on TikTok and the rest of the kids is telling them you’re probably never going to win an award.’

‘If you care about it enough, and you respect the craft, and the craft is important to you, and you believe in it, and you study it, that little video that comes out at the time might be splish-splosh when you are a kid. I hope that you know that with enough care for your craft, you can make it win an award.’ 

Best Cinematography went to Tár, and director Todd Fields accepted the honor on the behalf of Florian Hoffmeister, and Fields explained Florian was currently filming in Iceland. 

Along with listing key player and crew members on the project, Todd added that Florian had asked him to thank ten more people, and stated Cate Blanchett’s name a total of 10 times. 

The John Cassavetes Award, which is presented to a creative team for a film that was budgeted at less than $1,000,000, was awarded to the film titled, The Cathedral. 

The premise of the feature follows, ‘An only child’s meditative, impressionistic account of an American family’s rise and fall over two decades,’ according to IMDB.   

The Robert Altman Award is given to the ensemble cast, director and casting director of a film. Women Talking, which stars Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, and was directed by Sarah Polley, was the recipient of the honor. 

The film, which is based on the novel of the same name written by Miriam Toews, and tells the real-life events of, ‘the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling a brutal reality with their faith.’ 

Best International Film went to the Pakistani film called, Joyland, which was directed by Saim Sadiq. He accepted the honor, which was also his first Spirit Award. 

The story follows, ‘The youngest son in a traditional Pakistani family takes a job as a backup dancer in a Bollywood-style burlesque, and he quickly becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman who runs the show,’ according to IMDB.  

The Producers Award is an additional esteemed honor presented during the ceremony, and is given to ’emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films,’ according to the official website.  

Tory Lenosky was the recipient, and has been notably producing independent films for nearly an entire decade. 

The Someone To Watch Award was given to Nikyatu Jusu, and she explained that, ‘I am only someone to watch because of my collaborators in front of and behind the camera…’ 

The Truer Than Fiction Award went to Reid Davenport for I Didn’t See You There. The documentarian, who has cerebral palsy, makes films that focus on individuals with disabilities.  

Back in the television category, the award for Best Ensemble in a New Scripted series went to Pachinko. 

The Apple TV+ series follows, ‘the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations as they leave their homeland in an indomitable quest to survive and thrive,’ according to IMDB.  

The show is based on the New York Times Best Selling book, and actor Steve Sanghyun Noh happily accepted the award during the ceremony.  

Best First Screenplay went to John Patton Ford for Emily The Criminal, which stars Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi. On the stage, he applauded Aubrey for taking on the project and for her portrayal of the role of Emily Benetto. 

And Best Non Scripted or Documentary Series went to The Rehearsal, which is a comedic, docu-series. 

The HBO project was not only created and directed by Nathan Fielder, but was also written and starred the filmmaker. 

‘Nathan Fielder gives people a chance to rehearse for their own lives in a world where nothing ever works out as expected,’ is the premiere of the show according to an IMDB synopsis.