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11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996)
Independent Spirit Awards logo

Spirit Awards 1996 Winners & Nominees

The 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996) took place on March 23, 1996. Leaving Las Vegas won Best Feature and 3 more awards. Every winner and nominee in all 12 categories is below.

All 12 categories Most wins
categories
12
nominations
48
films nominated
19
winners
11
Held on
Best Feature
Leaving Las Vegas
Headline winners

Spirit Awards 1996: The Winners

Leaving Las Vegas won Best Feature against 2 other nominees. Mike Figgis (Best Director), Sean Penn (Best Male Lead) and Elisabeth Shue (Best Female Lead) took the main individual prizes.

Leaving Las Vegas (1995) movie poster Best Feature

Best Feature

Leaving Las Vegas

1995 · Drama, Romance · $32M worldwide

4 wins from 6 nominations at the 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996)

  • Best Director
  • Best Female Lead
  • Best Cinematography

A disheartened screenwriter travels to Las Vegas to drink himself to death, seeking oblivion in the city’s vibrant chaos. There, he meets a troubled prostitute, and an unexpected bond develops between them as they navigate their individual struggles. Their connection offers a glimmer of hope amidst despair, but his relentless self-destruction puts their fragile relationship at risk, leading them both towards an uncertain future.

About Leaving Las Vegas
Scoreboard

Spirit Awards 1996: Which Films Won the Most

Leaving Las Vegas won 4 awards from 6 nominations. 7 films won at least once, while Little Odessa went home empty-handed from 5 nominations. Green is wins, blue is nominations.

  1. Leaving Las Vegas (1995) movie poster
    Leaving Las Vegas 4 / 6
    1995 · Drama, Romance · 4 wins from 6 nominations
  2. The Usual Suspects (1995) movie poster
    The Usual Suspects 2 / 3
    1995 · Mystery, Thriller · 2 wins from 3 nominations
  3. Georgia (1995) movie poster
    Georgia 1 / 4
    1995 · Drama, Music · 1 win from 4 nominations
  4. Kids (1995) movie poster
    Kids 1 / 4
    1995 · Drama · 1 win from 4 nominations
  5. Dead Man Walking (1995) movie poster
    Dead Man Walking 1 / 2
    1995 · Drama, Crime · 1 win from 2 nominations
  6. Smoke (1995) movie poster
    Smoke 1 / 2
    1995 · Drama, Comedy · 1 win from 2 nominations
  7. The Brothers McMullen (1995) movie poster
    The Brothers McMullen 1 / 1
    1995 · Drama, Comedy · 1 win from 1 nomination
  8. Little Odessa (1995) movie poster
    Little Odessa 0 / 5
    1995 · Drama, Crime · 0 wins from 5 nominations
  9. Safe (1995) movie poster
    Safe 0 / 4
    1995 · Drama · 0 wins from 4 nominations
  10. Living in Oblivion (1995) movie poster
    Living in Oblivion 0 / 3
    1995 · Drama, Comedy · 0 wins from 3 nominations
Full results

All 12 Spirit Awards 1996 Categories: Winners & Nominees

12 categories and 48 nominations. The winner of each comes first, on a green row. Search for a film or a person, show only the winners, or jump straight to a category.

12 categories · 48 nominations

Jump to a category
By genre

The Genres Behind the Spirit Awards 1996 Winners

Drama led with 44 nominations across 17 films and won 9. A film with several genres counts for each one.

  1. Drama 9 wins · 44 nominations · 20%
  2. Crime 3 wins · 14 nominations · 21%
  3. Comedy 2 wins · 11 nominations · 18%
  4. Romance 5 wins · 7 nominations · 71%
  5. Thriller 2 wins · 6 nominations · 33%
  6. Music 1 win · 4 nominations · 25%
  7. Mystery 2 wins · 3 nominations · 67%
  8. Horror 0 wins · 3 nominations · 0%
  9. Action 0 wins · 2 nominations · 0%
  10. Adventure 0 wins · 1 nomination · 0%
1996 season

How the Rest of the 1996 Awards Season Voted

The other 9 ceremonies of 1996, with the winner of each top prize. Sense and Sensibility won the most of them: 3.

All 1996 awards
Earlier years

Previous Spirit Awards Ceremonies

The 6 ceremonies before this one, with the winner of each top prize. The Spirit Awards page has every year back to 1986.

Every Spirit Awards ceremony

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FAQ

Spirit Awards 1996: Questions & Answers

The top prize, the film that won the most, the most-nominated film, the individual winners and the date of the 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996), answered from the results on this page.

Who won Best Feature at the 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996)?

Leaving Las Vegas (1995) won Best Feature. The other nominees were Living in Oblivion and Safe.

About Leaving Las Vegas

Which film won the most awards at the 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996)?

Leaving Las Vegas (1995) won the most: 4 awards from 6 nominations. The Usual Suspects was next with 2 wins.

Which film had the most nominations at the 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996)?

Leaving Las Vegas (1995) led with 6 nominations and won 4 of them.

Who won the acting and directing awards at the 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996)?

Best Director: Mike Figgis for Leaving Las Vegas. Best Male Lead: Sean Penn for Dead Man Walking. Best Female Lead: Elisabeth Shue for Leaving Las Vegas. Best Supporting Male: Benicio Del Toro for The Usual Suspects. Best Supporting Female: Mare Winningham for Georgia.

When was the 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996)?

The 11th Independent Spirit Awards (1996) took place on March 23, 1996. The database has 12 categories and 48 nominations for it.