Out director Lee Daniels and his film “Precious” dominate at the Independent Spirit Awards

There’s a good reason why Lee Daniels, director of Precious: Based on the Novel `Push’ by Sapphire, cracked at last night’s Independent Spirit Awards: “Kathryn Bigelow’s not here tonight. I am.”

Daniels won the best director award without having to compete against Oscar-front runner Bigelow whose The Hurt Locker premiered at film festivals in 2008 and was eligible for the Spirit Awards last year.

This gave Oscar-nominee Daniels a chance to bask in a win on a night that his film dominated at the Spirit Awards held in downtown Los Angeles Friday after many years of taking place on the beach in Santa Monica the afternoon before the Oscars.

His film took the best feature prize and its stars Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique won best actress and supporting actress, respectively. Geoffrey Fletcher also won for his screenplay of Precious.

“Gabby, you are truly a special gift to the universe, baby,” Oscar-favorite Mo’Nique said of her co-star. “For people to get to know you and be in your presence, they are all honored.”

Though she has dominated her category at earlier film honors, Mo’Nique said backstage she had not prepared a speech for the Oscars, “because I think the universe would say, `You have a lot of nerve.'”

Sidibe said her mother used to give her two dollars to go to school and that she saved the money to see an independent film, Welcome to the Dollhouse, at a theater her bus would drive past.

“Hey, I could do that,” Sidibe said. “To be corny, you could say that’s when my independent spirit was born.”

Other winners last night: Crazy Heart star Jeff Bridges won best male lead and is an overwhelming favorite to win his first Oscar; Woody Harrelson won the supporting male prize for  The Messenger.

Presented by the cinema group Film Independent, the awards honor movies that cost less than $20 million to make, with a significant part of their budget originating outside the Hollywood studio system.