Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal's debut film production Girls Will Be Girls has bagged the John Cassavetes Award at the 40th Independent Spirit Awards.
The Shuchi Talati-directed comedy-of-age drama, starring Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti and Kesav Binoy Kiron won the award at a ceremony, held in Santa Monica, California, on Saturday.
The film was one of the five contenders for the John Cassavetes Award, which honours the creative team of the best films made with a budget under USD 1 million. Big Boys, Ghostlight, Jazzy, and The People's Joker were the other nominees.
Produced by Richa and Ali’s banner Pushing Buttons Studios, Girls Will Be Girls revolves around a 16-year-old girl called Mira (Preeti) whose rebellious awakening is intertwined with her mother's (Kani) unfulfilled coming-of-age experiences.
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival where it received two awards last year.
Winning an award for her debut production feels like a dream, said Richa, adding that the movie represents not just a personal journey, but a collective effort of a team.
"To see it recognised on such a grand stage is humbling. As the first Indian actor and producer to win an Independent Spirit Award, I feel like this is not just my victory, but a victory for all of us working to make diverse, authentic stories," she said.
Ali added, "This win is a momentous one for us, and for Indian cinema as a whole. The spirit of independent filmmaking is about taking risks and telling the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or challenging that may be. Girls Will Be Girls does exactly that."
Shuchi Talati called Girls Will Be Girls a labour of love.
"This is more than just an award for me ' it is a powerful affirmation of the story we set out to tell... to have it resonate with audiences and critics alike is beyond amazing," she said. At the Independent Spirit Awards 2025, which supports independent filmmakers, Kani was also nominated in the best supporting performance category for her performance in the movie but lost out to Kieran Culkin of A Real Pain.
In 2022, the Independent Spirit Awards replaced its four acting categories with two gender-neutral segment, merging best supporting male and female into best supporting performance.
Anora dominated the film categories with three wins -- best feature, best director for Sean Baker, and best lead performance for Mikey Madison.
For A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg won the best screenplay trophy and Maisy Stella received best breakthrough performance for My Old Ass.
Didi secured best first feature and best first screenplay for Sean Wang. Flow was named best international film, and No Other Land won best documentary.