The 8th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 1992, were announced on March 27, 1993. It was hosted by Buck Henry and was the first ceremony held under a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

The Player is a 1992 American satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Michael Tolkin, based on his own 1988 novel of the same name. The film stars Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James and Cynthia Stevenson, and is the story of a Hollywood film studio executive who kills an aspiring screenwriter he believes is sending him death threats.