“Moonlight” will be competing for eight Oscars, including Best Picture. The Independent Spirit Awards, held on California’s Santa Monica Beach on the day before Hollywood’s glitzy Oscars ceremony, honor the year’s best achievements in independent film made on small budgets. The last three winners of the Spirit Awards ― “Spotlight”, “Birdman” and “12 Years a Slave” - all went on to win the Best Picture Oscar, the highest honor in the movie industry. But this year, some of the films getting the most awards buzz, like “La La Land,” “Lion” and “Hidden Figures,” were not eligible for Spirit Awards. Simpson, won best documentary over Ava DuVernay’s “13th” and Raoul Peck’s “I Am Not Your Negro.” All three are also Oscar-nominated.

Source: Huffington Post February 26, 2017 13:48 UTC