The last three Spirit Awards best-feature winners – “Spotlight”, “Birdman”, “12 Years a Slave” – all went on to win best picture at the Oscars. Also Read: Oscar 2017 Predictions: Can Anything Stop “La La Land” Avalanche? The Spirit Awards, held under a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, California, are the dressed-down, afternoon antidote to the Academy Awards, where cocktails and indie pride are consumed in equal measure.