4th Independent Spirit Awards


The 4th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 1988, were announced on March 25, 1989 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. It was hosted by Buck Henry.

Winners and nominees

Independent Spirit [Award for Best Film|Best Feature]Best Director
Stand and Deliver
Ramón Menéndez - Stand and Deliver
  • David Burton Morris - Patti Rocks
  • Errol Morris - The Thin Blue Line
  • Oliver Stone - Talk Radio
  • John Waters - Hairspray
    • Best Male LeadBest Female Lead
    Edward James Olmos - Stand and Deliver
  • Eric Bogosian - Talk Radio
  • Harvey Fierstein - Torch Song Trilogy
  • Chris Mulkey - Patti Rocks
  • James Woods - The Boost
    		• Jodie Foster - Five Corners
  • Ricki Lake - Hairspray
  • Nobu McCarthy - The Wash
  • Julia Roberts - Mystic Pizza
  • Meg Ryan - Promised Land
    • Best Supporting MaleBest Supporting Female
    Lou Diamond Phillips - Stand and Deliver
  • Ernest Borgnine - Spike of Bensonhurst
  • Divine - Hairspray
  • John Lone - The Moderns
  • John Turturro - Five Corners
    		• Rosana De Soto - Stand and Deliver
  • Bonnie Bedelia - The Prince of Pennsylvania
  • Debbie Harry - Hairspray
  • Amy Madigan - The Prince of Pennsylvania
  • Patti Yasutake - The Wash
    • Best ScreenplayBest First Feature
    Stand and Deliver - Ramón Menéndez and Tom Musca
  • Five Corners - John Patrick Shanley
  • Hairspray - John Waters
  • The Moderns - Alan Rudolph and Jon Bradshaw
  • Patti Rocks - John Jenkins, Karen Landry, David Burton Morris and Chris Mulkey
    		• Mystic Pizza
  • Border Radio - Allison Anders
  • The Chocolate War
  • The Prince of Pennsylvania
  • The Wash
    • Best CinematographyBest Foreign Film
    The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Sven Nykvist
  • The Moderns - Toyomichi Kurita
  • Patti Rocks - Gregory Cummins
  • Stand and Deliver - Tom Richmond
  • Talk Radio - Robert Richardson
    		• Wings of Desire • West Germany
  • Bagdad Cafe • West Germany
  • The Kitchen Toto • UK
  • A World Apart • UK
  • Yeelen • Mali

    • Special awards

    Friends of Independence Award