"I want to thank everyone who was willing to look stupid and put even just a sliver of themselves on the line to legitimize all these new filmmakers here tonight," Russell said at the awards ceremony on Sunday.

The year’s best indies were celebrated Sunday as Hollywood gathered for the 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunset Blvd. Hosted by Ego Nwodim, the guest list included the stars and filmmakers behind nominated titles like Peter Hujar’s Day,