In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Film Independent's Spirit Awards, the 2015 edition of the awards show will be broadcast live for the first time in years.
For the past few years, a tape-delayed version of the show aired hours after the winners had already been revealed, rendering the show itself somewhat of an anti-climax. The 2015 show will air live from Santa Monica on IFC on February 21 at 2:00 pm PT/5:00 pm ET. The nominees won't be revealed for a while but films like “Birdman,” “Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Boyhood,” and “Whiplash” are among the leading contenders this year.
Tenth Planet Productions' Joel Gallen will executive produce the show, while Shawn Davis will produce for the 13th time.
“We wanted to shake things up to mark the 30th anniversary,” said Film Independent's Josh Welsh in a press release, “and I think by broadcasting live from the beach we”ll do just that. I could not be more excited to be working with Joel Gallen on this year”s show, and thrilled to be back on IFC, our longtime home.”
This year's show “combines the excitement and spontaneity of a live broadcast with a festive celebration of the Spirit Awards” 30th anniversary,” added IFC President Jennifer Caserta. “We”re proud to be Film Independent”s longtime partner in bringing this award show to movie lovers and honoring the talented creators that brought us another great year in film.”