Silver Linings Playbook won the best film prize at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, as well as best actress for Jennifer Lawrence and best director.
On the eve of the Oscars, director David Russell received a publicity boost for his dark romantic comedy, which stars Bradley Cooper as recovering bipolar ex-teacher Pat who falls for Lawrence’s mixed-up Tiffany.
Austrian Michael Haneke’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Amour took the best foreign film prize.
Best actor at the Spirits, traditionally held on the eve of the Academy Awards, went to John Hawkes for playing a man paralysed from the neck down who hires a sex surrogate to help him lose his virginity in The Sessions.
Russell stressed the health issues behind Silver Linings Playbook, saying: “I just want to say on behalf of any family that ever faced mood disorder or the stigma of mood disorder, any mental illness: this film is for you.
“I think when you make a film from the heart, there’s no such thing as genre, there are just real people,” he told reporters at the awards show in Santa Monica, west of Los Angeles.