Tony Yang, Rajee Samarasinghe, Tatti Ribeiro Win Indie Spirit Emerging Filmmaker Awards

The Film Independent Spirit Awards have given three $25,000 cash grants to emerging filmmakers Tony Yang, Rajee Samarasinghe and Tatti Ribeiro at its annual Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees Brunch, which took place on Saturday at the London Hotel in Santa Monica. Hannah Einbinder and Natasha Rothwell presented the awards.

Nominations in the three categories, the only Indie Spirit Award categories that offer cash prizes rather than trophies, were announced with the rest of the Indie Spirit nominations on Dec. 3, but the winners are revealed in advance of the Feb. 15 ceremony.

Tony Yang received the Producers Award, which is given to an emerging producer working with limited resources. Tatti Ribeiro (director of “Valentina”) was given the Someone to Watch Award, which salutes “a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.” And Rajee Samarasinghe (who directed “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible”) received the Truer Than Fiction Award, which goes to an emerging director of nonfiction features.

The annual Nominees Brunch typically that takes place not far from the beach in Santa Monica where the Indie Spirit Awards are normally held in a tent. But with this year’s awards ceremony moved to the Hollywood Palladium because of construction around its usual location, the brunch was also moved.

Nominees in attendance at the brunch included Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Tessa Thompson, Kirsten Dunst and Stephen Graham.

Here is the list of nominees and winners:

PRODUCERS AWARD  (Honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films)
Emma Hannaway
Luca Intili
Tony Yang *WINNER

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD (Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition)
Tatti Ribeiro, director of “Valentina” *WINNER
Neo Sora, director of “Happyend”
Annapurna Sriram, director of “F—toys”

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD  (Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition)
Tony Benna, director of “Andre Is an Idiot”
Rajee Samarasinghe, Director of “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible” *WINNER
Brittany Shyne, Director of “Seeds”

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