LIndependent Spirit a la millor primera pel·lícula (en anglès Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature) és el Premi Independent Spirit que es concedeix anualment a la millor pel·lícula debut.
Guanyadors i nominats La pel·lícula guanyadora de cada any es mostra sobre fons blau:
Dècada del 1980 Any Títol Direcció / Producció 1986 She's Gotta Have It Spike Lee, director i productor |- | Belizaire the Cajun || Glen Pitre / Allan L. Durand |- | A Great Wall || Peter Wang, director |- | Hoosiers || David Anspaugh / John Daly, Carter DeHaven, Derek Gibson i Angelo Pizzo |- | True Stories || David Byrne / Gary Kurfirst |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 1987 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Dirty Dancing ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Emile Ardolino / Linda Gottlieb Anna Yurek Bogayevicz / Zanne Devine Hollywood Shuffle Robert Townsend, director i productor / Carl Craig Siesta Mary Lambert / Gary Kurfirst Waiting for the Moon Jill Godmilow / Sandra Schulberg 1988 Mystic Pizza Donald Petrie / Mark Levinson i Scott M. Rosenfelt |- | Border Radio || Allison Anders, Dean Lent i Kurt Voss / Marcus DeLeon |- | The Chocolate War || Keith Gordon / Jonathan D. Krane |- | The Prince of Pennsylvania || Ron Nyswaner / Jonathan D. Krane |- | The Wash || Michael Toshiyuki Uno / Calvin Skaggs |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 1989 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Heathers ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Michael Lehmann / Denise Di Novi 84C MoPic Patrick Sheane Duncan / Michael Nolan Powwow Highway Jonathan Wacks / Jan Wieringa Sidewalk Stories Charles Lane / Howard M. Brickner Talking to Strangers Rob Tregenza / J.K. Eareckson
Dècada del 1990 Any Títol Direcció / Producció 1990 Metropolitan Whit Stillman, director i productor |- | House Party || Reginald Hudlin / Warrington Hudlin |- | Lightning Over Braddock || Tony Buba, director i productor |- | The Natural History of Parking Lots || Everett Lewis / Aziz Ghazal |- | Twister || Michael Almereyda / Wieland Schulz-Keil |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 1991 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Straight Out of Brooklyn ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Matty Rich, director i productor Chameleon Street Wendell B. Harris Jr., director i productor Poison Todd Haynes / Christine Vachon The Rapture Michael Tolkin / Karen Koch, Nancy Tenenbaum i Nick Wechsler Slacker Richard Linklater, director i productor 1992 The Waterdance Neal Jimenez i Michael Steinberg / Gale Anne Hurd, Marie Cantin i Guy Riedel |- | Laws of Gravity || Nick Gomez / Bob Gosse i Larry Meistrich |- | My New Gun || Stacy Cochran / Michael Flynn |- | Reservoir Dogs || Quentin Tarantino / Lawrence Bender |- | Swoon || Tom Kalin / Christine Vachon |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 1993 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | El mariachi ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Robert Rodriguez, director i productor / Carlos Gallardo American Heart Martin Bell / Jeff Bridges i Rosilyn Heller Combination Platter Tony Chan, director i productor / Judy Moy Mac John Turturro / Brenda Goodman i Nancy Tenenbaum Menace II Society Allen i Albert Hughes / Darin Scott 1994 Spanking the Monkey David O. Russell / Dean Silvers |- | Clean, Shaven || Lodge Kerrigan, director i productor |- | Clerks || Kevin Smith, director i productor / Scott Mosier |- | I Like It Like That || Darnell Martin / Lane Janger |- | Suture || David Siegel i Scott McGehee, directors i productors / Michele Petin |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 1995 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | The Brothers McMullen ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Edward Burns / Dick Fisher Kids Larry Clark / Cary Woods Little Odessa James Gray / Paul Webster Picture Bride Kayo Hatta / Diane Mei Lin Mark i Lisa Onodera River of Grass Kelly Reichardt, director 1996 Sling Blade Billy Bob Thornton / David L. Bushell i Brandon Rosser |- | Big Night || Campbell Scott i Stanley Tucci / Jonathan Filley |- | Jo vaig disparar a l'Andy Warhol || Mary Harron / Tom Kalin i Christine Vachon |- | Manny & Lo || Lisa Krueger / Marlen Hecht i Dean Silvers |- | Trees Lounge || Steve Buscemi / Chris Hanley i Brad Wyman |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 1997 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Eve's bayou (L'estany de l'Eva) ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Kasi Lemmons / Caldecot Chubb i Samuel L. Jackson The Bible and Gun Club Daniel J. Harris, director i productor Hard Eight Paul Thomas Anderson / Robert Jones i John S. Lyons In the Company of Men Neil LaBute / Mark Archer i Stephen Pevner Star Maps Miguel Arteta / Matthew Greenfield 1998 El contrari del sexe Don Roos / David Kirkpatrick i Michael Besman |- | Buffalo '66 || Vincent Gallo / Chris Hanley |- | High Art || Lisa Cholodenko / Dolly Hall, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte i Susan A. Stover |- | Pi || Darren Aronofsky / Eric Watson |- | Slums of Beverly Hills || Tamara Jenkins / Michael Nozik i Stan Wlodkowski |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 1999 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Being John Malkovich ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Spike Jonze / Michael Stipe, Sandy Stern, Steve Golin i Vincent Landay Boys Don't Cry Kimberly Peirce / Jeffrey Sharp, John Hart, Eva Kolodner i Christine Vachon Three Seasons Tony Bui / Jason Kliot i Joana Vicente Twin Falls Idaho Michael Polish / Marshall Persinger, Rena Ronson i Steven J. Wolfe Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl Joan Chen, director i productor / Wai-Chung Chan
Dècada del 2000 NOTA: A partir de l'any 2000, les pel·lícules nominades es van restringir a aquelles amb un pressupost superior als 500.000$. El premi Independent Spirit John Cassavetes va començar a premiar les primeres pel·lícules que tenien un pressupost inferior o igual als 500.000$.
Any Títol Direcció / Producció 2000 You Can Count on Me Kenneth Lonergan / John Hart, Jeffrey Sharp, Barbara De Fina i Larry Meistrich |- | Boiler Room || Ben Younger / Jennifer Todd i Suzanne Todd |- | Girlfight || Karyn Kusama / Maggie Renzi, Sarah Green i Martha Griffin. |- | Love & Basketball || Gina Prince-Bythewood / Spike Lee i Sam Kitt |- | The Visit || Jordan Walker-Pearlman, director i productor |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 2001 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | In the Bedroom ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Todd Field, director The Anniversary Party Alan Cumming i Jennifer Jason Leigh, directors El creient Henry Bean, director Donnie Darko Richard Kelly, director Ghost World Terry Zwigoff, director 2002 La perillosa vida dels Altar Boys Peter Care, director |- | Interview with the Assassin || Neil Burger, director |- | Manito || Eric Eason, director |- | Paid in Full || Charles Stone III, director |- | Roger Dodger || Dylan Kidd, director |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 2003 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Monster ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Patty Jenkins / Mark Damon, Donald Kushner, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron i Brad Wyman Bomb the System Adam Bhala Lough / Ben Rekhi i Sol Tryon House of Sand and Fog Vadim Perelman, director i productor / Michael London Quattro Noza Joey Curtis / Fredric King Thirteen Catherine Hardwicke / Jeffrey Levy-Hinte i Michael London 2004 Garden State Zach Braff / Pamela Abdy, Gary Gilbert, Dan Halsted i Richard Klubeck |- | Brother to Brother || Rodney Evans, director i productor / Jim McKay, Isen Robbins i Aimee Schoof |- | Napoleon Dynamite || Jared Hess / Jeremy Coon, Sean Covel i Chris Wyatt |- | Saints and Soldiers || Ryan Little, director i productor / Adam Abel |- | The Woodsman || Nicole Kassell / Lee Daniels |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 2005 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Crash ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Paul Haggis, director i productor / Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris i Bobby Moresco Lackawanna Blues George C. Wolfe / Halle Berry, Vince Cirrincione, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Nellie Nugiel i Shelby Stone Me and You and Everyone We Know Miranda July / Gina Kwon Thumbsucker Mike Mills / Anthony Bregman i Bob Stephenson Transamerica Duncan Tucker / Sebastian Dungan, Linda Moran i Rene Bastian 2006 Sweet Land Ali Selim / Alan Cumming i James Bigham |- | Day Night Day Night || Julia Loktev / Melanie Judd id Jessica Levin |- | Man Push Cart || Ramin Bahrani / Pradip Ghosh i Bedford T. Bentley |- | The Motel || Michael Kang / Matthew Greenfield, Miguel Arteta, Gina Kwon i Karin Chien |- | Wristcutters: A Love Story || Goran Dukić / Adam Sherman, Chris Coen, Tatiana Kelly i Mikal P. Lazarev |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 2007 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | The Lookout ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Scott Frank / Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark i Walter F. Parkes 2 Days in Paris Julie Delpy / Christophe Mazodier i Thierry Potok Great World of Sound Craig Zobel, director i productor / Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green id Richard A. Wright Rocket Science Jeffrey Blitz / Effie Brown i Sean Welch Vanaja Rajnesh Domalpalli / Latha R. Domalapalli 2008 Synecdoche, New York Charlie Kaufman, director i productor / Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze i Sidney Kimmel |- | Afterschool || Antonio Campos / T. Sean Durkin i Josh Mond |- | Medicine for Melancholy || Barry Jenkins / Justin Barber |- | Sangre de Mi Sangre || Christopher Zalla / Per Melita i Ben Odell |- | Sleep Dealer || Alex Rivera / Anthony Bregman |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 2009 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Crazy Heart ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Scott Cooper, director i productor / Robert Duvall, Rob Carliner, Judy Cairo i T-Bone Burnett Easier with Practice Kyle Patrick Alvarez / Cookie Carosella The Messenger Oren Moverman / Mark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee i Zach Miller Paranormal Activity Oren Peli, director i productor / Jason Blum A Single Man Tom Ford, director i productor / Chris Weitz, Andrew Miano i Robert Salerno
Dècada del 2010 Any Títol Direcció / Producció 2010 Get Low Aaron Schneider / Dean Zanuck i David Gundlach |- | Everything Strange and New || Frazer Bradshaw / Laura Techera Francia i A.D. Liano |- | The Last Exorcism || Daniel Stamm / Eric Newman, Eli Roth, Marc Abraham i Thomas A. Bliss |- | Night Catches Us || Tanya Hamilton / Ronald Simon, Sean Costello i Jason Orans |- | Tiny Furniture || Lena Dunham / Kyle Martin i Alicia Van Couvering |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 2011 ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Margin Call ||style="background:#B0C4DE;" | J.C. Chandor / Joe Jenckes, Robert Ogden Barnum, Corey Moosa, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson i Zachary Quinto Another Earth Mike Cahill / Hunter Gray, Mike Cahill, Brit Marling i Nicholas Shumaker In the Family Patrick Wang / Patrick Wang, Andrew van den Houten i Robert Tonino Martha Marcy May Marlene Sean Durkin / Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Chris Maybach i Patrick Cunningham Natural Selection Robbie Pickering / Brion Hambell i Paul Jensen 2012 Els avantatges de ser un marginat 'Stephen Chbosky, director |- | Fill the Void || Rama Burshtein, director |- | Gimme the Loot || Adam Leon, director |- | Safety Not Guaranteed || Colin Trevorrow, director |- | Sound of My Voice || Zal Batmanglij, director |- |rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| 2013 || Blue Caprice || Alexandre Moors, director |- | Concussion || Stacie Passon, director |- | Fruitvale Station || Ryan Coogler, director |- | Una noche || Lucy Mulloy, director |- | Wadjda'' Haifaa al-Mansour, director
Dècada del 2020