Accepting the award for best lead performance, Byrne said, “I share this with Mary Bronstein, my writer, director, who fought for eight years to get this movie made. It’s a deeply personal story. I love you, Mary.”

The Australian actress noted, “This character of Linda really could only exist in an independent film. She’s fierce and she’s gracious and she’s a middle-aged woman,” she said before adding, “I’m from Australia, and it’s really all independent film there, so I feel very at home here.”

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The actress was nominated alongside Everett Blunck (The Plague), Kathleen Chalfant (Familiar Touch), Chang Chen (Lucky Lu), Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Dylan O’Brien (Twinless), Keke Palmer (One of Them Days), Théodore Pellerin (Lurker), Tessa Thompson (Hedda) and Ben Whishaw (Peter Hujar’s Day).

From writer-director Mary Bronstein, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is about parenting in extremis and existential black holes.

Byrne’s high-wire act remains riveting throughout the film. It’s a bruising performance, digging into the pressure and isolation that sometimes accompany motherhood.