The stage is set for city to show some Spirit
SM BEACH — Often considered the “Oscars before the Oscars,” the Independent Spirit Awards that will be staged here this weekend attracts hundreds of celebrities and filmmakers to Santa Monica, and with them they bring notoriety to this city by the sea while at the same time, fueling the local hospitality industry.
The Spirit Awards, which honors the best in independent films, will be held on Saturday at Santa Monica Beach and be televised live on Independent Film Channel at 2 p.m. The ceremony will be rebroadcast on AMC the same evening at 7 p.m. EST/PST. An exclusive half-hour red carpet show will air live on the WE Channel at 1:30 p.m.
Over the past 21 years, the Independent Spirit Awards has developed into a vanguard event. Held as a luncheon on the beach, the ceremony brings together the entire film community to celebrate the best of independent film.
What was once a 200-person event during its first year, organizers expect about 1,400 people to attend Saturday’s fete to honor some of the biggest names in the business and many of the films that are nominated for Academy Awards.
As the first event to honor independent films exclusively, the Spirit Awards has made a name for itself as the premier awards event for the independent film community. It’s a celebration of the spirited pioneers who bring a unique vision to filmmaking, organizers say.
Along with the party, the Independent Spirit Awards ceremony also 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 is such categories as Best First Feature and Best Feature made for under $500,000. (See box at right for this year’s nominees.) Now in its 12th year in Santa Monica, the event — which costs more than $1 million to put on — continues to grow.
“Our event buys out every hotel in this city,” said Diana Zahn-Storey, executive producer of the Spirit Awards. “This is the one time that the entire community of independent filmmakers get together.”
Crews began taking over the parking lot at Santa Monica Beach, just south of the pier, more than a week ago, erecting the tent where the festivities will be held, as well as hooking up all of the support equipment.
About 400 people help create the event on site, beginning with the 140-foot by 195-foot tent, which takes 2 1/2 days to set up. Ten days prior to the event, trailers that serve as dressing rooms and offices are brought in, as well as portable bathrooms. DSL and phone lines are installed, and infrastructure for lights and sound are rigged inside the tent. Then, the stage, and the tables and chairs are put into place beneath the tent — all in time for today’s rehearsal.
“You can’t imagine all of the things you must take into consideration,” Zahn-Storey said, adding the rain doesn’t help. “It’s not fun.”
But it’s all worth it in the end. “We could do it in a large ballroom, but that’s not our event,” Zahn-Storey said. “Our event is a daytime event... casual, irreverent. The tent is a big space, which is a huge advantage when you are trying to seat 1,300 people.”
This year’s version of the Spirit Awards are a far cry from year one, when it was held at a restaurant in Hollywood and had an operating budget of $10,000. As the event grew, the locations changed to larger venues, but participants complained that they were too dark and didn’t offer good views of the stage, Zahn-Storey said.
For the Spirit Awards’ eighth year, a tent at Santa Monica Beach was used, but it only had the basics.
“At that time, we hardly had any money at all,” Zahn- Storey said. “But in the 10th year, we came to Santa Monica and we’ve been here ever since, and as long as the city will have us, we’ll be here.”
City officials welcome the Spirit Awards with open arms, not only because it fuels the economy in the days leading up to the ceremony, but it also puts Santa Monica in the spotlight.
“The name recognition is great and we love it,” said City Hall spokeswoman Judy Franz. “We know it adds vitality to the city.”
The event also provides revenue to City Hall’s coffers — Film Independent, the nonprofit organization that hosts the Spirit Awards — pays the city of Santa Monica $60,000 for use of the parking lot for one week. City Hall also receives $2,850 for crew and VIP parking, according to city officials.
That rate has gone up over the years — the first year the event was here it cost $1,000 a day for the parking lot. Today, it’s $8,000.
Again, the price is worth it for Film Independent. “You can’t put a dollar amount on our success here,” Zahn-Storey said. “The city is really great... and as long as it’s financially feasible, we’ll be here.”
The Spirit Awards serves as the main fundraising event for Film Independent, which was founded in 1980, and was formerly known as IFP/Los Angeles. It is the largest non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers, helping them get their films made, building the audience, and increasing diversity in the industry. Film Independent also produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international independent film.
The organization’s 6,300 members, who pay $95 annually, have access to discounted equipment, editing suites, casting rooms, a resource library, more than 120 free screenings and 150 educational events every year.
“This event contributes to over 50 percent of our annual budget,” Zahn-Storey said. “We want to keep our membership dues low and this helps that.
“And we’ve been able to keep our mission to keep the indy film community together.”
Part of the organization’s success can be attributed to the growth of the independent film community on the West Coast in the past 25 years. Film Independent began with six members in 1980 and now has more than 6,000.
The Spirit Awards has become more high profile over the years as Hollywood celebrities have become more involved in independent film. The awards show began being filmed for television 10 years ago, which also has helped give it more recognition.
“The celebrities have always come, but nobody knew about it,” Zahn-Storey said. “It’s really a fun show and the word has spread.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 3, 2006. Read the original PDF.