Skip to content
What's After the Movie?

Jump to
What's After the Movie?
12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997)
Independent Spirit Awards logo

Spirit Awards 1997 Winners & Nominees

The 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997) took place on March 22, 1997. Fargo won Best Feature and 5 more awards. Every winner and nominee in all 12 categories is below.

All 12 categories Most wins
categories
12
nominations
42
films nominated
19
winners
12
Held on
Best Feature
Fargo
Headline winners

Spirit Awards 1997: The Winners

Fargo won Best Feature against 3 other nominees. Joel Coen (Best Director), William H. Macy (Best Male Lead) and Frances McDormand (Best Female Lead) took the main individual prizes.

Fargo (1996) movie poster Best Feature

Best Feature

Fargo

1996 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · $60.6M worldwide

6 wins from 6 nominations at the 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997)

  • Best Director
  • Best Male Lead
  • Best Female Lead
  • Best Screenplay
  • Best Cinematography

In 1987 Minnesota, a struggling car salesman, desperate for money, devises a plan to kidnap his wife and demand a ransom from her wealthy father. His scheme quickly unravels when the kidnapping goes horribly wrong, and a confrontation with two inept criminals leads to the death of a state trooper. The situation escalates, drawing the attention of a determined local police officer who must unravel the truth behind the increasingly violent events unfolding in the winter landscape.

About Fargo
Scoreboard

Spirit Awards 1997: Which Films Won the Most

Fargo won 6 awards from 6 nominations. 7 films won at least once, while Flirting with Disaster went home empty-handed from 4 nominations. Green is wins, blue is nominations.

  1. Fargo (1996) movie poster
    Fargo 6 / 6
    1996 · Drama, Thriller · 6 wins from 6 nominations
  2. Lone Star (1996) movie poster
    Lone Star 1 / 4
    1996 · Drama, Mystery · 1 win from 4 nominations
  3. Big Night (1996) movie poster
    Big Night 1 / 4
    1996 · Drama · 1 win from 4 nominations
  4. Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996) movie poster
    Welcome to the Dollhouse 1 / 4
    1996 · Drama, Comedy · 1 win from 4 nominations
  5. Basquiat (1996) movie poster
    Basquiat 1 / 2
    1996 · Biography, Drama · 1 win from 2 nominations
  6. Sling Blade (1996) movie poster
    Sling Blade 1 / 1
    1996 · Drama · 1 win from 1 nomination
  7. Secrets & Lies (1996) movie poster
    Secrets & Lies 1 / 1
    1996 · Drama, Comedy · 1 win from 1 nomination
  8. Flirting with Disaster (1996) movie poster
    Flirting with Disaster 0 / 4
    1996 · Comedy · 0 wins from 4 nominations
  9. Dead Man Walking (1995) movie poster
    Dead Man Walking 0 / 4
    1995 · Drama, Crime · 0 wins from 4 nominations
  10. Walking and Talking (1996) movie poster
    Walking and Talking 0 / 2
    1996 · Drama, Comedy · 0 wins from 2 nominations
Full results

All 12 Spirit Awards 1997 Categories: Winners & Nominees

12 categories and 42 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 · 42 nominations

Jump to a category
By genre

The Genres Behind the Spirit Awards 1997 Winners

Drama led with 38 nominations across 18 films and won 12. A film with several genres counts for each one.

  1. Drama 12 wins · 38 nominations · 32%
  2. Crime 6 wins · 14 nominations · 43%
  3. Comedy 2 wins · 14 nominations · 14%
  4. Romance 1 win · 9 nominations · 11%
  5. Thriller 6 wins · 8 nominations · 75%
  6. Mystery 1 win · 5 nominations · 20%
  7. Western 1 win · 4 nominations · 25%
  8. Biography 1 win · 3 nominations · 33%
  9. Action 0 wins · 1 nomination · 0%
1997 season

How the Rest of the 1997 Awards Season Voted

The other 9 ceremonies of 1997, with the winner of each top prize. Fargo also won the top prize at one of them. The English Patient won the most of them: 4.

All 1997 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

Coming soon to your phone

The Plot Explained Movie Summary App

From blockbusters to hidden gems: plot summaries, endings explained and timelines on your phone. Save your favorites and never miss a twist again.

Be the first to know when it launches. Your email stays private, always. Learn more about the app

FAQ

Spirit Awards 1997: Questions & Answers

The top prize, the film that won the most, the most-nominated film, the individual winners and the date of the 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997), answered from the results on this page.

Who won Best Feature at the 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997)?

Fargo (1996) won Best Feature. The other nominees were Dead Man Walking, Lone Star and Welcome to the Dollhouse.

About Fargo

Which film won the most awards at the 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997)?

Fargo (1996) won the most: 6 awards from 6 nominations.

Which film had the most nominations at the 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997)?

Fargo (1996) led with 6 nominations and won 6 of them.

Who won the acting and directing awards at the 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997)?

Best Director: Joel Coen for Fargo. Best Male Lead: William H. Macy for Fargo. Best Female Lead: Frances McDormand for Fargo. Best Supporting Male: Benicio Del Toro for Basquiat. Best Supporting Female: Elizabeth Peña for Lone Star.

When was the 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997)?

The 12th Independent Spirit Awards (1997) took place on March 22, 1997. The database has 12 categories and 42 nominations for it.