Sideways in clean sweep at art-house film awards

LOS ANGELES - They came, they drank, they conquered.

The wine-guzzling characters of "Sideways" helped the acclaimed comedy sweep the Independent Spirit Awards, the art-house world's equivalent of the Oscars.

The Oscar-nominated saga, in which two buddies get wistful about women and wine while touring southern California wine country, won all six categories in which it was nominated, including best feature, director, screenplay and male lead.

"Winning six out of six, it's just kinda mind-boggling," said Michael London, who produced the US$16 million film. "But I think that this movie touched a chord across a wide range of people. Not very often does a movie go that distance and really take people on a journey where they feel particularly satisfied."

The film's main rival, the cocaine-smuggling drama "Maria Full of Grace," which scored five nominations, ended up with two prizes, including best female lead for Colombian newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno.

The only other multiple winner among the competitive categories was "The Motorcycle Diaries," a road trip detailing the political awakening of Latin American revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, which also won two prizes.

CALM BEFORE THE OSCAR

The Independent Spirit Awards, now in their 20th year, honor low-budget films based on such criteria as original, provocative subject matter and the degree of independent financing.

The event is organized by the Los Angeles arm of the Independent Film Project, a group that nurtures indie filmmakers, and winners are determined by the group's 9,000 members nationwide.

Many of the nominated films are also competing for Academy Awards on Monday, but there is traditionally little crossover. "Sideways" has five Oscar nominations, but is seen as a strong contender only for the adapted screenplay prize.

As the Independent Spirit ceremony unfolded during a leisurely luncheon inside a marquee on Santa Monica Beach, it allowed the casually clad stars to relax ahead of the annual chaos that is the Oscars, or the "Co-Dependent Spirit Awards," as Spirits host Samuel L. Jackson joked. All four acting winners basked in acclaim after being plucked from obscurity.

Sideways" star Paul Giamatti, a surprise omission from the Oscar shortlist, won the Independent Spirit Award for his role as a sad-sack oenophile. Before "Sideways," he was perhaps best known for playing a radio executive nicknamed Pig Vomit in the 1997 comedy "Private Parts."

Giamatti's Oscar-nominated co-stars, Thomas Haden Church and Virginia Madsen, won the supporting prizes, and were philosophical about their chances at the big event.

"I think that all of us are just really so amazed that we're going," said Madsen. "It seems the dominating factors are 'Million Dollar Baby' and '(The) Aviator,' and there's some things that our film can't compete with in the marketplace."

Church, previously best known for his work on the sitcom "Wings," said "Sideways" has elevated his profile, and would weigh on his future script choices.

"The key is to follow 'Sideways' up with something that honors 'Sideways.' I don't want to do anything that is desultory or irresponsible," he said.

"Sideways" director Alexander Payne won the directing prize, and also shared the screenplay prize with Jim Taylor, his writing partner of 15 years. It marked a repeat of the duo's 2000 success with the high school satire "Election."

LATIN FILMS TRIUMPH

"Maria Full of Grace" star Sandino, a Bogota native who had not acted in a feature film before, also competes for an Oscar on Monday. The Spanish-language film also won the best first screenplay award for its American writer/director Joshua Marston, who spent years researching the drug trade between Colombia and the United States.

"The Motorcycle Diaries," also shot in Spanish, won Independent Spirit Awards for debut performance (Argentina's Rodrigo de la Serna) and cinematography (Eric Gautier).

Other winners included Spanish film "The Sea Inside" for best foreign film, "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" for best documentary, and "Garden State" for best first feature.

"Garden State" writer/director Zach Braff recalled that as a penniless actor four years ago, he rented a cheap bicycle so that he could come to the ceremony and watch the stars arrive.

- REUTERS