Actress Molly Shannon has won Best Supporting Female at the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards for her role in “Other People.”
In accepting the award Shannon talked about playing a mother dying of cancer in writer-director Chris Kelly’s film based on his real life experience.
“Cancer has become a part of so many people’s lives, there can be a risk in telling these kind of stories,” said Shannon, who encouraged filmmakers to follow in Kelly’s path. “[These stories] do the essential thing that I love most about movies — they magnify the human comedy and tragedy that binds as a kind of family together and we need that now more than ever.”
Also nominated for Best Supporting Female were Lily Gladstone (“Certain Women”), Edwina Findley (“Free In Deed”) and Paulina Garcia (“Little Men”).
READ MORE: 2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Who Will Win and Who Should Win — Critics Survey
None of the actresses nominated for Best Supporting Female today are nominated for an Academy Award. The Spirit Awards are different than the dozens of other awards leading up to the Academy Awards as they are specifically designed to celebrate the best of independent film. “Independent” is defined by the rules committee as meaning uniqueness of vision, original/provocative subject matter, and made for less that $20 million (which is why “La La Land” was ineligible this year). Film Independent and IFP Members vote on the winners.
As has become a tradition, the 32nd Annual Spirit Awards were held in a beachfront tent next to the Santa Monica Pier the Saturday afternoon before the Academy Awards. Comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney hosted the show.
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