French silent film The Artist has been named best feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.
It comes one day before it is expected to take the top prize at the Oscars. In a scene that could have come out of a movie, director Michel Hazanavicius was given a police escort from the airport to Santa Monica in time to see his film pick up four awards. He had just jetted back to Los Angeles from Paris where The Artist swept the Cesar awards on Friday. The annual Spirit awards, which honour independent film-making, are a laid-back warm-up to the Oscars. This year, as last year, they took place in a giant tent next to Santa Monica beach in California. Several other Oscar hopefuls won prizes in the event on Saturday, including Christopher Plummer for best supporting actor in Beginners, and Michelle Williams – named best actress for My Week with Marilyn. In her acceptance speech, Williams thanked the room “full of misfits, outcasts, loners, dreamers, mumblers delinquents, drop-outs… just like me”. Best international film went to Iran’s A Separation, while The Descendants won best screenplay.