Independent Spirit Award untuk Film Pertama Terbaik merupakan salah satu Independent Spirit Awards tahunan. Biasanya, gelar ini diberikan kepada sutradara (atau para sutradara) dan produser (atau para produser). Sebutan "film fitur pertama" diterapkan kepada sutradara, bukan kepada produser. Oleh karena itu, para produser telah dinominasikan beberapa kali. Penghargaan ini pertama kali diberikan pada tahun 1986 dengan film Spike Lee She's Gotta Have It sebagai penerima pertama penghargaan tersebut.

Pada tahun 2000, kategori ini dibagi menjadi dua kategori terpisah: satu untuk film dengan anggaran lebih dari $500.000 dan kategori baru, yaitu Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, yang sebelumnya terbatas pada film dengan anggaran di bawah $500.000. Pada tahun 2001, film dapat memenuhi syarat tanpa memandang anggarannya, asalkan merupakan debut penyutradaraan film.

• 1986: She's Gotta Have It – Spike Lee, sutradara dan produser
  • Belizaire the Cajun – Glen Pitre, sutradara; Allan L. Durand, produser
  • A Great Wall – Peter Wang, sutradara
  • Hoosiers – David Anspaugh, sutradara; John Daly, Carter DeHaven, Derek Gibson dan Angelo Pizzo, produser
  • True Stories – David Byrne, sutradara; Gary Kurfirst, produser
• 1987: Dirty Dancing – Emile Ardolino, sutradara; Linda Gottlieb, produser
  • Anna – Yurek Bogayevicz, sutradara; Zanne Devine, produser
  • Hollywood Shuffle – Robert Townsend, sutradara dan produser; Carl Craig, produser
  • Siesta – Mary Lambert, sutradara; Gary Kurfirst, produser
  • Waiting for the Moon – Jill Godmilow, sutradara; Sandra Schulberg, produser
• 1988: Mystic Pizza – Donald Petrie, sutradara; Mark Levinson dan Scott M. Rosenfelt, produser
  • Border Radio – Allison Anders, Dean Lent dan Kurt Voss; Marcus DeLeon, produser
  • The Chocolate War, Keith Gordon, sutradara; Jonathan D. Krane, produser
  • The Prince of Pennsylvania – Ron Nyswaner, sutradara; Jonathan D. Krane, produser
  • The Wash – Michael Toshiyuki Uno, sutradara; Calvin Skaggs, produser
• 1989: Heathers – Michael Lehmann, sutradara; Denise Di Novi, produser
  • 84 Charlie Mopic – Patrick Sheane Duncan, sutradara; Michael Nolan, producer
  • Powwow Highway – Jonathan Wacks, director; Jan Wieringa, producer
  • Sidewalk Stories – Charles Lane, director; Howard M. Brickner, produser
  • Talking to Strangers – Rob Tregenza, sutradara; J.K. Eareckson, produser

• 1990: Metropolitan – Whit Stillman, sutradara dan produser
  • House Party – Reginald Hudlin, sutradara; Warrington Hudlin, produser
  • Lightning Over Braddock – Tony Buba, sutradara dan produser
  • The Natural History of Parking Lots – Everett Lewis, sutradara; Aziz Ghazal, produser
  • Twister – Michael Almereyda, sutradara; Wieland Schulz-Keil, produser
• 1991: Straight Out of Brooklyn – Matty Rich, sutradara dan produser
  • Chameleon Street – Wendell B. Harris Jr., sutradara dan produser
  • Poison – Todd Haynes, sutradara; Christine Vachon, produser
  • The Rapture – Michael Tolkin, sutradara; Karen Koch, Nancy Tenenbaum dan Nick Wechsler, produser
  • Slacker – Richard Linklater, sutradara dan produser
• 1992: The Waterdance – Neal Jimenez dan Michael Steinberg, sutradara; Gale Anne Hurd, Marie Cantin dan Guy Riedel, produser eksekutif
  • Laws of Gravity – Nick Gomez, sutradara; Bob Gosse dan Larry Meistrich, produser
  • My New Gun – Stacy Cochran, sutradara; Michael Flynn, produser
  • Reservoir Dogs – Quentin Tarantino, sutradara; Lawrence Bender, produser
  • Swoon – Tom Kalin, sutradara; Christine Vachon, produser
• 1993: El Mariachi – Robert Rodriguez, sutradara dan produser; Carlos Gallardo, produser
  • American Heart – Martin Bell, sutradara; Jeff Bridges dan Rosilyn Heller, produser
  • Combination Platter – Tony Chan, sutradara dan produser; Judy Moy, produser
  • Mac – John Turturro, sutradara; Brenda Goodman dan Nancy Tenenbaum, produser
  • Menace II Society – Allen dan Albert Hughes, sutradara; Darin Scott, produser
• 1994: Spanking the Monkey – David O. Russell, sutradara; Dean Silvers, produser
  • Clean, Shaven – Lodge Kerrigan, sutradara dan produser
  • Clerks – Kevin Smith, sutradara dan produser; Scott Mosier, produser
  • I Like It Like That – Darnell Martin, sutradara; Lane Janger, produser
  • Suture – David Siegel dan Scott McGehee, sutradara dan produser; Michele Petin, produser
• 1995: The Brothers McMullen – Edward Burns, sutradara; Dick Fisher, produser
  • Kids – Larry Clark, sutradara; Cary Woods, produser
  • Little Odessa – James Gray, sutradara; Paul Webster, produser
  • Picture Bride – Kayo Hatta, sutradara; Diane Mei Lin Mark dan Lisa Onodera, produser
  • River of Grass – Kelly Reichardt, sutradara
• 1996: Sling Blade – Billy Bob Thornton, sutradara; David L. Bushell dan Brandon Rosser, produser
  • Big Night – Campbell Scott dan Stanley Tucci, sutradara; Jonathan Filley, produser
  • I Shot Andy Warhol – Mary Harron, sutradara; Tom Kalin dan Christine Vachon, produser
  • Manny & Lo – Lisa Krueger, sutradara; Marlen Hecht dan Dean Silvers, produser
  • Trees Lounge – Steve Buscemi, sutradara; Chris Hanley dan Brad Wyman, produser
• 1997: Eve's Bayou – Kasi Lemmons, sutradara; Caldecot Chubb dan Samuel L. Jackson, produser
  • The Bible and Gun Club – Daniel J. Harris, sutradara dan produser
  • Hard Eight – Paul Thomas Anderson, sutradara; Robert Jones dan John S. Lyons, produser
  • In the Company of Men – Neil LaBute, sutradara; Mark Archer dan Stephen Pevner, produser
  • Star Maps – Miguel Arteta, sutradara; Matthew Greenfield, produser
• 1998: The Opposite of Sex – Don Roos, sutradara; David Kirkpatrick dan Michael Besman, produser
  • Buffalo '66 – Vincent Gallo, sutradara; Chris Hanley, produser
  • High Art – Lisa Cholodenko, sutradara; Dolly Hall, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte dan Susan A. Stover, produser
  • π – Darren Aronofsky, sutradara; Eric Watson, produser
  • Slums of Beverly Hills – Tamara Jenkins, sutradara; Michael Nozik dan Stan Wlodkowski, produser
• 1999: Being John Malkovich – Spike Jonze, sutradara; Michael Stipe, Sandy Stern, Steve Golin dan Vincent Landay, produser
  • Boys Don't Cry – Kimberly Peirce, director; Jeffrey Sharp, John Hart, Eva Kolodner dan Christine Vachon, producers
  • Three Seasons – Tony Bui, director; Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente, produser
  • Twin Falls Idaho – Michael Polish, sutradara; Marshall Persinger, Rena Ronson dan Steven J. Wolfe, produser
  • Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl – Joan Chen, sutradara dan produser; Wai-Chung Chan, produser

• 2000: You Can Count On Me – Kenneth Lonergan, sutradara; John Hart, Jeffrey Sharp, Barbara De Fina dan Larry Meistrich, produser
  • Boiler Room – Ben Younger, sutradara; Jennifer Todd dan Suzanne Todd, produser
  • Girlfight – Karyn Kusama, sutradara; Maggie Renzi, Sarah Green dan Martha Griffin, produser.
  • Love & Basketball – Gina Prince-Bythewood, sutradara; Spike Lee dan Sam Kitt, produser
  • The Visit – Jordan Walker-Pearlman, sutradara dan produser
• 2001: In the Bedroom – Todd Field, sutradara
  • The Anniversary Party – Alan Cumming dan Jennifer Jason Leigh, sutradara
  • The Believer – Henry Bean, sutradara
  • Donnie Darko – Richard Kelly, sutradara
  • Ghost World – Terry Zwigoff, sutradara
• 2002: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys – Peter Care, sutradara
  • Interview with the Assassin – Neil Burger, sutradara
  • Manito – Eric Eason, sutradara
  • Paid in Full – Charles Stone III, sutradara
  • Roger Dodger – Dylan Kidd, sutradara
• 2003: Monster – Patty Jenkins, sutradara; Mark Damon, Donald Kushner, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron dan Brad Wyman, produser
  • Bomb the System – Adam Bhala Lough, sutradara; Ben Rekhi dan Sol Tryon, produser
  • House of Sand and Fog – Vadim Perelman, sutradara dan produser; Michael London, produser
  • Quattro Noza – Joey Curtis, sutradara; Fredric King, producer
  • Thirteen – Catherine Hardwicke, sutradara; Jeffrey Levy-Hinte dan Michael London, produser
• 2004: Garden State – Zach Braff, sutradara; Pamela Abdy, Gary Gilbert, Dan Halsted dan Richard Klubeck, produser
  • Brother to Brother – Rodney Evans, sutradara dan produser; Jim McKay, Isen Robbins dan Aimee Schoof, produser
  • Napoleon Dynamite – Jared Hess, sutradara; Jeremy Coon, Sean Covel dan Chris Wyatt, produser
  • Saints and Soldiers – Ryan Little, sutradara dan produser; Adam Abel, produser
  • The Woodsman – Nicole Kassell, sutradara; Lee Daniels, produser
• 2005: Crash – Paul Haggis, sutradara dan produser; Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris dan Bobby Moresco, produser
  • Lackawanna Blues – George C. Wolfe, sutradara; Halle Berry, Vince Cirrincione, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Nellie Nugiel dan Shelby Stone
  • Me and You and Everyone We Know – Miranda July, sutradara; Gina Kwon, produser
  • Thumbsucker – Mike Mills, sutradara; Anthony Bregman dan Bob Stephenson, produser
  • Transamerica – Duncan Tucker, sutradara; Sebastian Dungan, Linda Moran dan Rene Bastian, produser
• 2006: Sweet Land – Ali Selim, sutradara; Alan Cumming dan James Bigham, produser
  • Day Night Day Night – Julia Loktev, sutradara; Melanie Judd dan Jessica Levin, produser
  • Man Push Cart – Ramin Bahrani, sutradara; Pradip Ghosh dan Bedford T. Bentley, produser
  • The Motel – Michael Kang, sutradara; Matthew Greenfield, Miguel Arteta, Gina Kwon dan Karin Chien, produser
  • Wristcutters: A Love Story – Goran Dukić, sutradara; Adam Sherman, Chris Coen, Tatiana Kelly dan Mikal P. Lazarev, produser
• 2007: The Lookout – Scott Frank, sutradara; Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark dan Walter F. Parkes, produser
  • 2 Days in Paris – Julie Delpy, sutradara; Christophe Mazodier dan Thierry Potok, produser
  • Great World of Sound – Craig Zobel, sutradara dan produser; Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green dan Richard A. Wright, produser
  • Rocket Science – Jeffrey Blitz, sutradara; Effie Brown dan Sean Welch, produser
  • Vanaja – Rajnesh Domalpalli, sutradara; Latha R. Domalapalli, produser
• 2008: Synecdoche, New York – Charlie Kaufman, sutradara dan produser; Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze and Sidney Kimmel, produser
  • Afterschool – Antonio Campos, sutradara; T. Sean Durkin dan Josh Mond, produser
  • Medicine for Melancholy – Barry Jenkins, sutradara; Justin Barber, produser
  • Sangre de Mi Sangre – Christopher Zalla, sutradara; Per Melita dan Ben Odell, produser
  • Sleep Dealer – Alex Rivera, sutradara; Anthony Bregman, produser
• 2009: Crazy Heart – Scott Cooper, sutradara dan produser; Robert Duvall, Rob Carliner, Judy Cairo dan T-Bone Burnett, produser
  • Easier with Practice – Kyle Patrick Alvarez, sutradara; Cookie Carosella, produser
  • The Messenger – Oren Moverman, sutradara; Mark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee and Zach Miller, produser
  • Paranormal Activity – Oren Peli, sutradara dan produser; Jason Blum, produser
  • A Single Man – Tom Ford, sutradara dan produser; Chris Weitz, Andrew Miano dan Robert Salerno, produser

• 2010: Get Low – Aaron Schneider, sutradara; Dean Zanuck dan David Gundlach, produser
  • Everything Strange and New – Frazer Bradshaw, sutradara; Laura Techera Francia dan A.D. Liano, produser
  • The Last Exorcism – Daniel Stamm, sutradara; Eric Newman, Eli Roth, Marc Abraham dan Thomas A. Bliss, produser
  • Night Catches Us – Tanya Hamilton, sutradara; Ronald Simon, Sean Costello dan Jason Orans, produser
  • Tiny Furniture – Lena Dunham, sutradara; Kyle Martin dan Alicia Van Couvering, produser
• 2011: Margin Call – J. C. Chandor, sutradara; Joe Jenckes, Robert Ogden Barnum, Corey Moosa, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson dan Zachary Quinto, produser
  • Another Earth – Mike Cahill, sutradara; Hunter Gray, Mike Cahill, Brit Marling dan Nicholas Shumaker, produser
  • In the Family – Patrick Wang, sutradara; Patrick Wang, Andrew van den Houten dan Robert Tonino, produser
  • Martha Marcy May Marlene – Sean Durkin, sutradara; Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Chris Maybach dan Patrick Cunningham, produser
  • Natural Selection – Robbie Pickering, sutradara; Brion Hambell dan Paul Jensen, produser
• 2012: The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky, sutradara
  • Fill the Void – Rama Burshtein, sutradara
  • Gimme the Loot – Adam Leon, sutradara
  • Safety Not Guaranteed – Colin Trevorrow, sutradara
  • Sound of My Voice – Zal Batmanglij, sutradara
• 2013: Fruitvale Station – Ryan Coogler, sutradara
  • Blue Caprice – Alexandre Moors, sutradara
  • Concussion – Stacie Passon, sutradara
  • Una Noche – Lucy Mulloy, sutradara
  • Wadjda – Haifaa al-Mansour, sutradara
• 2014: Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy, sutradara
  • Dear White People – Justin Simien, sutradara
  • A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night – Ana Lily Amirpour, sutradara
  • Obvious Child – Gillian Robespierre, sutradara
  • She's Lost Control – Anja Marquardt, sutradara
• 2015: The Diary of a Teenage Girl – Marielle Heller, sutradara; Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, dan Madeline Samit, produser
  • James White – Josh Mond, sutradara; Max Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, dan Eric Schultz, produser
  • Manos Sucias – Josef Kubota Wladyka, sutradara; Elena Greenlee and Márcia Nunes, produser
  • Mediterranea – Jonas Carpignano, sutradara; Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, dan Ryan Zacarias, produser
  • Songs My Brother Taught Me – Chloé Zhao, sutradara/produser; Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, dan Forest Whitaker, produser
• 2016: The Witch – Robert Eggers, sutradara/produser; Daniel Bekerman, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Jodi Redmond, dan Rodrigo Teixeira, produser
  • The Childhood of a Leader – Brady Corbet, sutradara; Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Chris Coen, Ron Curtis, Helena Danielsson, Mona Fastvold, István Major, produser
  • The Fits – Anna Rose Holmer, sutradara/produser; Lisa Kjerulff, producer
  • Other People – Chris Kelly, sutradara; Sam Bisbee, Adam Scott, dan Naomi Scott, produser
  • Swiss Army Man – Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, sutradara; Miranda Bailey, Lawrence Inglee, Lauren Mann, Amanda Marshall, Eyal Rimmon, dan Jonathan Wang, produser
• 2017: Ingrid Goes West – Matt Spicer, sutradara; Jared Goldman, Adam Mirels, Robert Mirels, Aubrey Plaza, Tim White, Trevor White, produser
  • Columbus – Kogonada, sutradara; Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Aaron Boyd, Giulia Caruso, Ki Jin Kim, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz, produser
  • Menashe – Joshua Z. Weinstein, sutradara; Yoni Brook, Traci Carlson, Daniel Finkelman, Alex Lipschultz, produser
  • Oh Lucy! – Atsuko Hirayanagi, sutradara; Jessica Elbaum, Yukie Kito, Han West, produser
  • Patti Cake$ – Geremy Jasper, sutradara; Chris Columbus, Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Noah Stahl, Rodrigo Teixeira, produser