Awards season is in full swing in Hollywood, and next month marks the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards. The Spirit Awards makes a concerted effort to recognize and honor independent, and perhaps smaller projects that may have flown under the radar over the course of the year without major studio marketing budgets behind them. Critically acclaimed gems such as Bottoms, Monica, and We Grown Now garnered nominations for Best Feature at the awards, while more mainstream fare such as May December and American Fiction also made the list, which was announced last month.

Nominees and winners are decided by the members of Film Independent, the organization that holds the awards. Fi seeks to “champion creative independence in visual storytelling in all its forms, and to foster a culture of inclusion.” In that vein, starting with last year’s awards, the acting categories were made gender-neutral. Another newer addition to the awards is the introduction of six television-oriented prizes, incorporated in 2021. The organization also bestows the John Cassavetes Award, celebrating films mades for less than a million dollars, a feat in itself in the current entertainment landscape.

Though one might associate the term “independent” with amateur, inaccessible, and heady films, this year’s nominees are anything but. Last year, Emmy winner Patricia Clarkson told Temple of Geek the following about the film Monica, “People get knocked out by this film…When people see it, they say, there’s nothing like this.” Clarkson, who stars in the film alongside Trace Lysette, continued, “[They say] I’ve seen all the films this season, I’ve been to all the screenings, and this film has hit me, in a way I didn’t expect, and it’s hit me the hardest.” Monica is nominated for Best Lead Performance and Best Cinematography at this year’s Spirit Awards.

Stars Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway received nods for their roles in the indie films Memory and Eileen respectively, showing that independent projects can attract A-list talent, and the the widely popular hit “The Last of Us” scored four nominations in the ceremony’s television categories.

The 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards will take place on Sunday, February 25, on the Santa Monica Pier. The ceremony will be hosted by SNL alum and “Shrill” star Aidy Bryant. 

View the entire list of nominees below

FEATURE FILM

BEST FEATURE

ALL OF US STRANGERS

AMERICAN FICTION

MAY DECEMBER

PASSAGES

PAST LIVES

WE GROWN NOW

BEST FIRST FEATURE

ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT

CHRONICLES OF A WANDERING SAINT

EARTH MAMA

A THOUSAND AND ONE

UPON ENTRY

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Award given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000)

THE ARTIFICE GIRL

CADEJO BLANCO

FREMONT

ROTTING IN THE SUN

THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY

BEST DIRECTOR

ANDREW HAIGH – All of Us Strangers

TODD HAYNES – May December

WILLIAM OLDROYD – Eileen

IRA SACHS – Passages

CELINE SONG – Past Lives

BEST SCREENPLAY

DAVID HEMINGSON – The Holdovers

CORD JEFFERSON – American Fiction

LAURA MOSS, BRENDAN J. O’BRIEN – Birth/Rebirth

EMMA SELIGMAN, RACHEL SENNOTT – Bottoms

CELINE SONG – Past Lives

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

SAMY BURCH; STORY BY SAMY BURCH, ALEX MECHANIK – May December

NOAH GALVIN, MOLLY GORDON, NICK LIEBERMAN, BEN PLATT – Theater Camp

TOMÁS GÓMEZ BUSTILLO – Chronicles of a Wandering Saint

LAUREL PARMET – The Starling Girl

ALEJANDRO ROJAS, JUAN SEBASTIÁN VÁSQUEZ – Upon Entry

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

KATELIN ARIZMENDI – Monica

EIGIL BRYLD – The Holdovers

JOMO FRAY – All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

PABLO LOZANO – Chronicles of a Wandering Saint

PAT SCOLA – We Grown Now

BEST EDITING

SANTIAGO CENDEJAS, GABRIEL DÍAZ, SOFÍA SUBERCASEAUX – Rotting in the Sun

STEPHANIE FILO – We Grown Now

DANIEL GARBER – How to Blow Up a Pipeline

JON PHILPOT – Theater Camp

EMANUELE TIZIANI – Upon Entry

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

JESSICA CHASTAIN – Memory

GRETA LEE – Past Lives

TRACE LYSETTE – Monica

NATALIE PORTMAN – May December

JUDY REYES – Birth/Rebirth

FRANZ ROGOWSKI – Passages

ANDREW SCOTT – All of Us Strangers

TEYANA TAYLOR – A Thousand and One

JEFFREY WRIGHT – American Fiction

TEO YOO – Past Lives

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

ERIKA ALEXANDER – American Fiction

STERLING K. BROWN – American Fiction

NOAH GALVIN – Theater Camp

ANNE HATHAWAY – Eileen

GLENN HOWERTON – BlackBerry

MARIN IRELAND – Eileen

CHARLES MELTON – May December

DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH – The Holdovers

CATALINA SAAVEDRA – Rotting in the Sun

BEN WHISHAW – Passages

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

MARSHAWN LYNCH – Bottoms

ATIBON NAZAIRE – Mountains

TIA NOMORE – Earth Mama

DOMINIC SESSA – The Holdovers

ANAITA WALIZADA – Fremont

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BYE BYE TIBERIAS

FOUR DAUGHTERS

GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT

KOKOMO CITY

THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

ANATOMY OF A FALL, France

GODLAND, Denmark, Iceland

MAMI WATA, Nigeria

TÓTEM, Mexico

THE ZONE OF INTEREST, United Kingdom, Poland, USA

TELEVISION

BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES

DEADLOCKED: HOW AMERICA SHAPED THE SUPREME COURT

DEAR MAMA

MURDER IN BIG HORN

STOLEN YOUTH: INSIDE THE CULT AT SARAH LAWRENCE

WRESTLERS

BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

BEEF

DREAMING WHILST BLACK

I’M A VIRGO

JURY DUTY

SLIP

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

EMMA CORRIN – A Murder at the End of the World

DOMINIQUE FISHBACK – Swarm

BETTY GILPIN – Mrs. Davis

JHARREL JEROME – I’m a Virgo

ZOE LISTER-JONES – Slip

BEL POWLEY – A Small Light

BELLA RAMSEY – The Last of Us

RAMÓN RODRÍGUEZ – Will Trent

ALI WONG – Beef

STEVEN YEUN – Beef

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

MURRAY BARTLETT – The Last of Us

BILLIE EILISH – Swarm

JACK FARTHING – Rain Dogs

NICK OFFERMAN – The Last of Us

ADINA PORTER – The Changeling

LEWIS PULLMAN – Lessons in Chemistry

BENNY SAFDIE – The Curse

LUKE TENNIE – Shrinking

OLIVIA WASHINGTON – I’m a Virgo

JESSICA WILLIAMS – Shrinking

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

CLARK BACKO – The Changeling

ARIA MIA LOBERTI – All the Light We Cannot See

ADJANI SALMON – Dreaming Whilst Black

KEIVONN MONTREAL WOODARD – The Last of Us

KARA YOUNG – I’m a Virgo

More about Film Independent & The Independent Spirit Awards

Each year, the Spirit Awards brings together top talent from throughout the world of film and television. In addition to traditional categories such as Best Feature and Best Director, the Spirit Awards features a number of unique honors such as Best First Screenplay and the John Cassavetes Award (best feature under $1,000,000). In 2021, the show introduced new categories honoring outstanding television storytelling and performances and this year, two Best Breakthrough Performance categories make their debut. Learn more about Film Independent and the Spirit Awards on their WEBSITE