Film Independent handed out top honors this afternoon at the 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony on the beach in Santa
Monica. Hosted by comedy power couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, the ceremony was broadcast live on IFC and AMC+ at 5:00 pm ET and will air on the West Coast at 5:00 pm PT. In addition to being the celebration that honors artist-driven films and shows that embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision, the Spirit Awards is the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs. This year’s major winners in the film categories were The Lost Daughter which won Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay; Passing which won Best Supporting Female and Best Cinematography; Zola which won Best Female Lead and Best Editing; 7 Days which won Best First Feature; Pig which won Best First Screenplay; Red Rocket which won Best Male Lead; CODA which won Best Supporting Male; Drive My Car which won Best International Film; Summer of Soul which won Best Documentary; and Shiva Baby
which received the John Cassavetes Award. For the second time in its history, this year’s Spirit Awards also honored exceptional content in television. This year’s major winners in the TV categories were Reservation Dogs which won Best New Scripted Series and Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series; Black and Missing which won Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series; The Underground Railroad which won Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series; and Squid Game which won Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series.
The 14th annual Robert Altman Award, which was created in 2008 in honor of legendary film director Robert Altman, who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts, was awarded to Mass director Fran Kranz, alongside casting directors Henry Russell Bergstein and Allison Estrin as well as ensemble cast Kagen Albright, Reed Birney,
Michelle N. Carter, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton and Breeda Wool. Previously announced winners of the Emerging Filmmaker Awards Grants are Alex Camilleri (Luzzu) who received the Someone to Watch Award; Lizzie Shapiro who received the Producers Award; and Jessica Beshir (Faya Dayi) who received the Truer Than Fiction Award.
The ceremony aired live this evening on IFC and AMC+ at 5:00 pm ET and will air on the West Coast at 5:00 pm PT. Clips from the ceremony will be available on Film Independent’s YouTube channel after the show.
FILM CATEGORIES
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
- The Lost Daughter (WINNER)
Producers: Charles Dorfman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman Keren, Talia Kleinhendler - A Chiara
Producers: Jonas Carpignano, Paolo Carpignano, Jon Coplon, Ryan Zacarias - C’mon C’mon
Producers: Chelsea Barnard, Andrea Longacre-White, Lila Yacoub - The Novice
Producers: Ryan Hawkins, Kari Hollend, Steven Sims, Zack Zucker - Zola
Producers: Kara Baker, Dave Franco, Elizabeth Haggard, David Hinojosa, Vince Jolivette, Christine Vachon, Gia Walsh
BEST FEMALE LEAD
- Taylour Paige, Zola (WINNER)
- Isabelle Fuhrman, The Novice
- Brittany S. Hall, Test Pattern
- Patti Harrison, Together Together
- Kali Reis, Catch the Fair One
BEST MALE LEAD
- Simon Rex, Red Rocket (WINNER)
- Clifton Collins Jr., Jockey
- Frankie Faison, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
- Michael Greyeyes, Wild Indian
- Udo Kier, Swan Song
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
- Ruth Negga, Passing (WINNER)
- Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
- Amy Forsyth, The Novice
- Revika Reustle, Pleasure
- Suzanna Son, Red Rocket
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
- Troy Kotsur, CODA (WINNER)
- Colman Domingo, Zola
- Meeko Gattuso, Queen of Glory
- Will Patton, Sweet Thing
- Chaske Spencer, Wild Indian
BEST DIRECTOR
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter (WINNER)
- Janicza Bravo, Zola
- Lauren Hadaway, The Novice
- Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon
- Ninja Thyberg, Pleasure
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter (WINNER)
- Nikole Beckwith, Together Together
- Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris, Zola
- Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon
- Todd Stephens, Swan Song
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
- 7 Days (WINNER)
Director: Roshan Sethi
Producers: Liz Cardenas, Mel Eslyn - Holler
Director: Nicole Riegel
Producers: Adam Cobb, Rachel Gould, Katie Mcneill, Jamie Patricof, Christy Spitzer Thornton - Queen of Glory
Director: Nana Mensah
Producers: Baff Akoto, Anya Migdal, Kelley Robins Hicks, Jamund Washington - Test Pattern
Director/Producer: Shatara Michelle Ford
Producers: Pin-Chun Liu, Yu-Hao Su - Wild Indian
Director/Producer: Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
Producers: Thomas Mahoney, Eric Tavitian
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
- Michael Sarnoski; story by Vanessa Block, Michael Sarnoski, Pig (WINNER)
- Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., Wild Indian
- Matt Fifer; story by Sheldon D. Brown, Cicada
- Shatara Michelle Ford, Test Pattern
- Fran Kranz, Mass
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD Given to the best feature made for under $500,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
- Shiva Baby (WINNER)
Writer/Director/Producer: Emma Seligman
Producers: Kieran Altmann, Katie Schiller, Lizzie Shapiro - Cryptozoo
Writer/Director: Dash Shaw
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Kyle Martin, Jane Samborski, Bill Way - Jockey
Writer/Director/Producer: Clint Bentley
Writer/Producer: Greg Kwedar
Producer: Nancy Schafer - Sweet Thing
Writer/Director: Alexandre Rockwell
Producers: Louis Anania, Haley Anderson, Kenan Baysal - This Is Not a War Story
Writer/Director/Producer: Talia Lugacy
Producers: Noah Lang, Julian West
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Edu Grau, Passing (WINNER)
- Ante Cheng, Matthew Chuang, Blue Bayou
- Lol Crawley, The Humans
- Tim Curtin, A Chiara
- Ari Wegner, Zola
BEST EDITING
- Joi McMillon, Zola (WINNER)
- Affonso Gonçalves, A Chiara
- Ali Greer, The Nowhere Inn
- Lauren Hadaway, Nathan Nugent, The Novice
- Enrico Natale, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
- Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (WINNER)
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Producers: David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel - Ascension
Director/Producer: Jessica Kingdon
Producers: Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell - Flee
Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Producers: Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen
- In the Same Breath
Director/Producer: Nanfu Wang
Producers: Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, Jialing Zhang - Procession
Director: Robert Greene
Producers: Susan Bedusa, Bennett Elliott, Douglas Tirola
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
- Drive My Car (Japan) (WINNER)
Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi - Compartment No. 6 (Finland/Russia)
Director: Juho Kuosmanen - Parallel Mothers (Spain)
Director: Pedro Almodóvar - Pebbles (India)
Director: P S Vinothraj - Petite Maman (France)
Director: Céline Sciamma - Prayers for the Stolen (Mexico)
Director: Tatiana Huezo
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
- Mass
Director: Fran Kranz
Casting Directors: Henry Russell Bergstein, Allison Estrin
Ensemble Cast: Kagen Albright, Reed Birney, Michelle N. Carter, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Breeda Wool
PRODUCERS AWARD (The Producers Award, now in its 24th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.)
Lizzie Shapiro (WINNER)
- Brad Becker-Parton
- Pin-Chun Liu
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD (The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 27th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.)
- Alex Camilleri, Luzzu (WINNER)
- Michael Sarnoski, Pig
- Gillian Wallace Horvat, I Blame Society
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD (The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 26th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.)
- Jessica Beshir, Faya Dayi (WINNER)
- Angelo Madsen Minax, North By Current
- Debbie Lum, Try Harder!
TELEVISION CATEGORIES
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
- Reservation Dogs
Ensemble Cast: Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paulina Alexis, Sarah Podemski, Zahn McClarnon, Lil Mike, FunnyBone
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
- Reservation Dogs (WINNER)
Creators/Executive Producers: Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi
Executive Producer: Garrett Basch
- Blindspotting
Creators/Executive Producers: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs
Executive Producers: Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Ken Lee, Tim Palen, Emily Gerson Saines, Seith Mann - It’s a Sin
Executive Producers: Russell T Davies, Peter Hoar, Nicola Shindler - The Underground Railroad
Creator/Executive Producer: Barry Jenkins
Executive Producers: Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Colson Whitehead, Richard Heus, Jacqueline Hoyt - We Are Lady Parts
Creator: Nida Manzoor
Executive Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Surian Fletcher-Jones, Mark Freeland
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
- Thuso Mbedu, The Underground Railroad (WINNER)
- Anjana Vasan, We Are Lady Parts
- Jana Schmieding, Rutherford Falls
- Jasmine Cephas Jones, Blindspotting
- Deborah Ayorinde, THEM: Covenant
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
- Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game (WINNER)
- Olly Alexander, It’s a Sin
- Michael Greyeyes, Rutherford Falls
- Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus
- Ashley Thomas, THEM: Covenant
BEST NEW NONSCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
- Black and Missing (WINNER)
Series By/Executive Producers: Soledad O’Brien, Geeta Gandbhir
Executive Producers: Jo Honig, Patrick Conway, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez - The Choe Show
Creator/Exec Producer: David Choe
Executive Producers: Matt Revelli, Christopher C. Chen, Hiro Murai, Nate Matteson - The Lady and the Dale
Executive Producers: Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Allen Bain, Andre Gaines, Nick Cammilleri, Alana Carithers, Zackary Drucker, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller - Nuclear Family
Series By: Ry Russo-Young
Executive Producers: Liz Garbus, Julie Gaither, Jon Bardin, Leah Holzer, Peter Saraf, Alex Turtletaub, Jenny Raskin, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Lauren Haber, Maria Zuckerman, Christine Connor, Ryan Heller, Barbara Dobkin, Eric Dobkin, Andrea Van Beuren, Joe Landauer - Philly D.A.
Creators: Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, Nicole Salazar
Executive Producers: Dawn Porter, Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen, Ryan Chanatry, Gena Konstantinakos, Jeff Seelbach, Patty Quillin
Co-Executive Producers: Nion McEvoy, Leslie Berriman
ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
For over 40 years, Film Independent has helped filmmakers get their projects made and seen. The nonprofit organization’s core mission is to champion creative independence in visual storytelling and support a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision.
In addition to producing the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the organization supports creative professionals with Artist Development programs, grants and labs. Signature mentorship program Project Involve fosters the careers of talented filmmakers from underrepresented communities. Weekly Education events and workshops equip filmmakers of all ages and experience levels with tools and resources. Global Media Makers, a cultural exchange program produced in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, provides career-building opportunities for international film professionals. And year-round screening series Film Independent Presents delivers monthly, unique cinematic experiences to Members in Los Angeles and beyond.
The winners of the Film Independent Spirit Awards are voted on by Film Independent Members. Membership is open to the public. For more information or to become a Member, visit filmindependent.org.”
ABOUT IFC
IFC is the home of offbeat, unexpected comedies. Acclaimed series Documentary Now! and Sherman’s Showcase air alongside fan-favorite movies and comedic cult TV shows. IFC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc., and available across multiple
platforms. IFC is Always On, Slightly Off.
ABOUT AMC+
AMC+ is the company’s new premium streaming bundle featuring an extensive lineup of popular and critically acclaimed original programming from AMC, BBC America, IFC, and SundanceTV and full access to targeted streaming services Shudder, Sundance Now
and IFC Films Unlimited, which feature content such as A Discovery of Witches, Creepshow, and Boyhood. The service features a continually refreshed library of commercial-free content, including fan favorites Mad Men, Halt & Catch Fire, Turn: Washington’s Spies, Hell on Wheels, NOS4A2, Rectify, Orphan Black, Portlandia, and
series from The Walking Dead Universe, among many others. The service also offers a growing slate of original and exclusive series including Gangs of London, Kin, The North Water, Ragdoll, The Beast Must Die, Too Close, The Salisbury Poisonings, Cold Courage, Spy City, Ultra City Smiths, Anna, Anne Boleyn, Firebite, and La Fortuna.
AMC+ recently launched in Canada and Australia, and is available in the U.S. through AMCPlus.com, the AMC+ app, and a number of digital and cable partners.
