The 11th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 1995, were announced on March 23, 1996. It was hosted by Samuel L. Jackson.

Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having lost his family and been recently fired, has decided to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. He loads a supply of liquor and beer into his BMW and gets drunk as he drives from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Once there, he develops a romantic relationship with a prostitute played by Elisabeth Shue and the film shifts to include her narrative perspective. O'Brien died from suicide after signing away the film rights to the novel.