‘Tiger’ Wins 3 Independent Spirit Awards

The victory streak continues for the Chinese-language film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which garnered best director, best supporting actress and best feature honors at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday.

The multiple wins, coming a day before the Academy Awards, cap a monthlong series of prizes bestowed on the martial arts romantic drama and its director, Ang Lee.

The movie has been nominated for several Academy Awards, including best picture and director.

In his understated fashion, Lee thanked the audience for embracing his film. He confessed that the label “independent” was perplexing.

“I don’t really know what independent really means,” he said. “I’m very confused. Nobody can really be independent in making movies; we all rely on each other. It is truly a collaborative process.”

In perhaps the most surprising win, “Crouching Tiger’s” Zhang Ziyi beat out favorite Marcia Gay Harden (“Pollock”) for best supporting actress. Dressed in a backless, shiny silver body suit, Zhang breathlessly told the audience, through a Chinese interpreter, that she didn’t expect to win.

“I’m very, very happy,” said the 21-year-old actress. “To director Ang Lee, who helped me so much, I hope I can work with you again.”

The 16th annual Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by the Independent Feature Project West, were founded to recognize non-studio productions and talent. But increasingly, the lines between studio films and independent features have been blurred. Indeed, this year, just as last year, many of the same movies and filmmakers were nominated for an Oscar and an Independent Spirit Award.

But the Spirit Awards, hosted by the irreverent director John Waters, are much more easygoing than the highly orchestrated, multimillion-dollar production that is the Academy Awards.

The ceremony was held under a tent at a Santa Monica beach, and attendees ate a California cuisine lunch out of cardboard boxes. Other winners included Spanish actor Javier Bardem for his performance as the exiled Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas in “Before Night Falls,” and veteran actress Ellen Burstyn for her role as a drug-addicted mother in “Requiem for a Dream.” Burstyn, who is best known for her role in the 1970s horror film “The Exorcist,” made an emotional speech after receiving a standing ovation.

“I just can’t tell you how much I wanted this,” she said. “Thank you [director] Darren Aronofsky for your genius and for giving me the part of my career. I love my profession. . . . It’s an honor to reflect the spirit of humanity back into what we do.”

Bardem thanked the rotund director of his movie, Julian Schnabel, saying that “his heart was as big as his body,” but added that the statuette in his hand was really for “Reinaldo Arenas, who gave his life for freedom.”

In addition, playwright Kenneth Lonergan won best screenplay and best first feature for his critically acclaimed family drama “You Can Count on Me.”

The bespectacled Lonergan said that “without the independent film movement, I wouldn’t be here at all.”

Veteran actor Willem Dafoe won best supporting male actor for his wry performance as vampire/actor Max Schreck in “Shadow of the Vampire.”

First-time actress Michelle Rodriguez won best debut performance for her portrayal of an angry young boxer in “Girlfight.” Best first screenplay went to director/writer Gina Prince-Bythewood for “Love & Basketball,” and best feature under $500,000 went to Miguel Arteta’s “Chuck and Buck.”