'Moon' is the surprise winner at the British Indies, but Sam Rockwell loses again

Sam Rockwell and, um, Sam Rockwell in a scene from Duncan Jones "Moon."

Credit: Sony Pictures Classics

One of the more perplexing realities of this year's awards season is how little love Sam Rockwell has received for his great performance (or is that performances?) in Duncan Jones indie Sci-Fi hit "Moon."  Part of the problem, at least with the Independent Spirit Awards, is that because "Moon" was financed with international money it's ineligible for the U.S. only Spirits (and that opens a huge can of worms if you want to argue changing the rules with those peeps).  It's only exasperated by the fact that Rockwell, a critical and industry favorite, has never been nominated for a Spirit let alone an Oscar.  Sadly, the chance of the latter happening this season is remote and even the one award he had a good shot at winning -- the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor -- has gone to a different fine performance.

Announced tonight in London, the English equivalent of the Spirits provided one big surprise as "Moon" beat "An Education" and "In the Loop" for Best Picture.  That's sweet solace to director Duncan Jones, who also won the helmers award.  It probably doesn't mean much for the film's Oscar or Golden Globes chances, but it's certainly a nice validation that Sci-Fi can succeed on the big screen without laser guns and space ship battles.

Other prominent winners include "Fish Tank," Tom Hardy's charismatic turn in "Bronson," Carey Mulligan from "An Education" and the quartet of great screenwriters behind "In the Loop."

Here's a complete list of the 2009 BIFA winners:

Best British Independent Film
"Moon"

Best Director of a British Independent Film
Andrea Arnold for "Fish Tank"

The Douglas Hickox Award
Duncan Jones for "Moon"

Best Screenplay
Jesse Armstrong, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, Simon Blackwell for "In The Loop"

Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
Carey Mulligan, for "An Education"

Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film
Tom Hardy for Bronson

Best Supporting Actress
Anne Marie Duff for Nowhere Boy

Best Supporting Actor
John Henshaw for Looking For Eric

Most Promising Newcomer
Katie Jarvis for "Fish Tank"

Best Achievement In Production
"Bunny And The Bull"

The Raindance Award
"Down Terrace"

Best Technical Achievement
Greig Fraser, for "Bright Star"

Best British Documentary
"Mugabe and The White African"

Best British Short Film
"Love You More"

Best Foreign Independent Film
"Let The Right One In"

The Richard Harris Award
Daniel Day-Lewis

The Variety Award
Michael Caine

The Special Jury Prize
Baz Bamigboye