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
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
Film Independent is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, whose mission is to champion creative independence in visual storytelling in all its forms, and to foster a culture of inclusion. They support a global community of artists and audiences who embody diversity, innovation, curiosity and uniqueness of vision. They help filmmakers make their movies, build an audience for their projects, and work to diversify the film industry. With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in entertainment.
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
