Independent Spirit Awards of 1988

The 3rd Annual Independent Spirit Awards, given by Film Independent, honored the best independent filmmaking of 1987.

Best Cinematography

* "Barfly" - Robby M_ller
* "Matewan" - Haskell Wexler
* "Slamdance" - Amir Mokri
* "The Dead" - Fred Murphy
* "Tough Guys Don't Dance" - John Bailey

Best Director

* "Matewan" - John Sayles
* "River's Edge" - Tim Hunter
* "Swimming to Cambodia" - Jonathan Demme
* "The Big Easy" - Jim McBride
* "The Dead" - John Huston

Best Feature

* "Matewan" - Peggy Rajski, Maggie Renzi
* "River's Edge" - Midge Sanford, Sarah Pillsbury
* "Swimming to Cambodia" - Renee Shafransky
* "The Big Easy" - Stephen Friedman
* "The Dead" - Wieland Schulz-Keil, Chris Sievernich
* "Tough Guys Don't Dance" - Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus

Best Female Lead

* "Anna" - Sally Kirkland
* "The Glass Menagerie" - Joanne Woodward
* "The Whales of August" - Lillian Gish
* "Tough Guys Don't Dance" - Debra Sandlund
* "Working Girls" - Louise Smith

Best First Feature

* "Anna" - Yurek Bogayevicz
* "Dirty Dancing" - Emile Ardolino
* "Hollywood Shuffle" - Robert Townsend
* "Siesta" - Mary Lambert
* "Waiting for the Moon" - Jill Godmilow

Best Foreign Film

* "Au Revoir Les Enfants" - Louis Malle
* "Hope and Glory" - John Boorman
* "My Life As a Dog" - Waldemar Bergendahl, Lasee Hallstr_m
* "Pick Up Your Ears" - Andrew Brown, Stephen Frears
* "Tampopo" - Juzo Itami, Yasushi Tamaoki, Seigo Hosogoe

Best Male Lead

* "Barfly" - Mickey Rourke
* "Best Seller" - James Woods
* "Swimming to Cambodia" - Spalding Gray
* "The Big Easy" - Dennis Quaid
* "The Stepfather" - Terry O'Quinn

Best Screenplay

* "Anna" - Agnieszka Holland
* "Matewan" - John Sayles
* "River's Edge" - Neal Jimenez
* "Swimming to Cambodia" - Spalding Gray
* "The Dead" - Tony Huston

Best Supporting Female

* "Shy People" - Martha Plimpton
* "Street Smart" - Kathy Baker
* "The Dead" - Anjelica Huston
* "The Glass Menagerie" - Karen Allen
* "The Whales of August" - Ann Sothern

Best Supporting Male

* "Matewan" - David Strathairn, James Earl Jones
* "Street Smart" - Morgan Freeman
* "The Whales of August" - Vincent Price
* "Tough guys Don't Dance" - Wings Hauser