This year's major category winners were Fox Searchlight Pictures' The Wrestler, which won Best Feature, Best Male Lead (Mickey Rourke), and Best Cinematography (Maryse Alberti); The Weinstein Company's Vicky Cristina Barcelona , which won Best Screenplay (Woody Allen), and Best Supporting Female (Pen elope Cruz); Overture Films' The Visitor , which won Best Director (Tom McCarthy); Sony Pictures Classics' Synecdoche, New York , which won Best First Feature and the Robert Altman Award, Frozen River , which won Best Female Lead (Melissa Leo); and The Class , which won Best Foreign Film; IFC Films' In Search of a Midnight Kiss , which won the John Cassavetes Award for the Best Feature made for under $500,000; and Magnolia Pictures Man on Wire , which won Best Documentary.
Also given was the 2nd annual Robert Altman Award, given to one film's director, casting director, and ensemble cast. Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York received this award, along with casting director Jeanne McCarthy, and ensemble cast members Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, and Michelle Williams.
