The 40th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced, marking a significant milestone in celebrating the art of independent cinema and television. As one of the most esteemed ceremonies honoring creative visionaries, the Spirit Awards continue their tradition of spotlighting bold and innovative storytelling.
This year’s nominees, revealed on December 4, highlight the diverse range of narratives and performances that have defined the independent film and TV landscape in 2024. Leading the nominations in the film categories are Anora and I Saw the TV Glow, each with six nods, while Shōgun dominates the television categories with five nominations.
A Legacy of Championing Independent Art
The Spirit Awards have come a long way since their humble beginnings in 1985 as the FINDIE (Friends of Independents) Awards. Over the decades, they’ve grown into a vital platform for celebrating artists whose works challenge conventions and redefine the moving image.
Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent, reflected on the legacy, “Since we held our first ceremony in 1985 to last year’s celebration at Santa Monica Beach, Film Independent has supported filmmakers in achieving their vision at every stage of their careers. We’re thrilled to honor this new group of creatives as they continue this proud legacy.”
The awards have long been a launchpad for talents like Joel Coen, Spike Lee, Ryan Coogler, and Kasi Lemmons, offering early recognition to visionaries who have since transformed the industry.
2025 Spirit Awards Highlights
- Best Feature nominees include Anora, I Saw the TV Glow, Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, and The Substance.
- The Robert Altman Award, celebrating ensemble excellence, goes to His Three Daughters, directed by Azazel Jacobs.
- On the television side, Baby Reindeer, Diarra From Detroit, English Teacher, Fantasmas, and Shōgun vie for Best New Scripted Series.
- Performances by Amy Adams (Nightbitch), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Hiroyuki Sanada (Shōgun) stand out among the acting nominees.
Honoring Innovation and Inclusivity
The Spirit Awards continue to lead the way in promoting inclusivity. Since adopting gender-neutral acting categories in 2022, this year’s nominees reflect a commitment to diversity, with 46% of nominees identifying as women and 30% as BIPOC. The committees responsible for selecting nominees are equally diverse, comprising 47% women, 10% nonbinary individuals, and 66% BIPOC members.
Brenda Robinson, Chair of the Film Independent Board of Directors, emphasized the importance of independent storytelling: “This year’s inspiring group of Spirit Award nominees demonstrates the essential nature of independent art. Through their dedication and unique voices, they’ve created works that will be celebrated for years to come.
Below is the full list of nominees:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
- Anora
Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan - I Saw the TV Glow
Producers: Ali Herting, Luca Intili, Dave McCary, Emma Stone, Sarah Winshall - Nickel Boys
Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine - Sing Sing
Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Monique Walton - The Substance
Producers: Tim Bevan, Coralie Fargeat, Eric Fellner
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
- Dìdi
Director/Producer: Sean Wang
Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters - In the Summers
Director: Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio
Producers: Janek Ambros, Lynette Coll, Alexander Dinelaris, Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz, Cristóbal Güell, Sergio Alberto Lira, Rob Quadrino, Jan Suter, Daniel Tantalean, Nando Vila, Slava Vladimirov, Stephanie Yankwitt - Janet Planet
Director/Producer: Annie Baker
Producers: Andrew Goldman, Dan Janvey, Derrick Tseng - The Piano Lesson
Director: Malcolm Washington
Producers: Todd Black, Denzel Washington - Problemista
Director/Producer: Julio Torres
Producers: Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emma Stone
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer)
- Big Boys
Writer/Director/Producer: Corey Sherman
Producer: Allison Tate - Ghostlight
Writer/Director: Kelly O’Sullivan
Director/Producer: Alex Thompson
Producers: Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Chelsea Krant, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson - Girls Will Be Girls
Writer/Director/Producer: Shuchi Talati
Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne - Jazzy
Writer/Director/Producer: Morrisa Maltz
Writer/Producer: Lainey Shangreaux
Writers: Andrew Hajek, Vanara Taing
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Tommy Heitkamp, John Way, Natalie Whalen, Elliott Whitton - The People’s Joker
Writer/Director: Vera Drew
Writer: Bri LeRose
Producer: Joey Lyons
BEST DIRECTOR
- Ali Abbasi
The Apprentice - Sean Baker
Anora - Brady Corbet
The Brutalist - Alonso Ruizpalacios
La Cocina - Jane Schoenbrun
I Saw the TV Glow
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Heretic - Jesse Eisenberg
A Real Pain - Megan Park
My Old Ass - Aaron Schimberg
A Different Man - Jane Schoenbrun
I Saw the TV Glow
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
- Joanna Arnow
The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed - Annie Baker
Janet Planet - India Donaldson
Good One - Julio Torres
Problemista - Sean Wang
Dìdi
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
- Amy Adams
Nightbitch - Ryan Destiny
The Fire Inside - Colman Domingo
Sing Sing - Keith Kupferer
Ghostlight - Mikey Madison
Anora - Demi Moore
The Substance - Hunter Schafer
- Cuckoo
- Justice Smith
- I Saw the TV Glow
- June Squibb
- Thelma
- Sebastian Stan
- The Apprentice
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
- Yura Borisov
Anora - Joan Chen
Dìdi - Kieran Culkin
A Real Pain - Danielle Deadwyler
The Piano Lesson - Carol Kane
Between the Temples - Karren Karagulian
Anora - Kani Kusruti
Girls Will Be Girls - Brigette Lundy-Paine
I Saw the TV Glow - Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin
Sing Sing - Adam Pearson
A Different Man
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
- Isaac Krasner
Big Boys - Katy O’Brian
Love Lies Bleeding - Mason Alexander Park
National Anthem - René Pérez Joglar
In the Summers - Maisy Stella
My Old Ass
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Dinh Duy Hung
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell - Jomo Fray
Nickel Boys - Maria von Hausswolff
Janet Planet - Juan Pablo Ramírez
La Cocina - Rina Yang
The Fire Inside
BEST EDITING
- Laura Colwell, Vanara Taing
Jazzy - Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm
The Apprentice - Anne McCabe
Nightbitch - Hansjörg Weissbrich
September 5 - Arielle Zakowski
Dìdi
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
His Three Daughters
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto
Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
- Gaucho Gaucho
Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Producers: Christos Konstantakopoulos, Cameron O’Reilly, Matthew Perniciaro - Hummingbirds
Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
Co-Directors/Producers: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger
Producers: Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow - No Other Land
Directors/Producers: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning - Patrice: The Movie
Director: Ted Passon
Producers: Kyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily Spivack - Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Director: Johan Grimonprez
Producers: Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
- All We Imagine as Light
France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg
Director: Payal Kapadia - Black Dog
China
Director: Guan Hu - Flow
Latvia, France, Belgium
Director: Gints Zilbalodis - Green Border
Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium
Director: Agnieszka Holland - Hard Truths
United Kingdom
Director: Mike Leigh
PRODUCERS AWARD presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey – The Producers Award, now in its 28th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.
- Alex Coco
- Sarah Winshall
- Zoë Worth
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 31st year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
- Nicholas Colia
Director of Griffin in Summer - Sarah Friedland
Director of Familiar Touch - Pham Thien An
Director of Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 30th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
- Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
Directors of Sugarcane - Carla Gutiérrez
Director of Frida - Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Director of A Photographic Memory
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
- Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color
Executive Producers: Idris Elba, Johanna Woolford Gibbon, Jamilla Dumbuya, Jos Cushing, Khaled Gad, Matt Robins, Chris Muckle, Sean David Johnson, Simon Raikes
Co-Executive Producer: Annabel Hobley - Hollywood Black
Executive Producers: Shayla Harris, Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss, Jon Kamen, Justin Simien, Kyle Laursen, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jeffrey Schwarz, Amy Goodman Kass, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart
Co-Executive Producers: David C. Brown, Laurens Grant - Photographer
Executive Producers: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Pagan Harleman, Betsy Forhan
Co-Executive Producers: Anna Barnes, Brent Kunkle - Ren Faire
Executive Producers: Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Dani Bernfeld, Lance Oppenheim, David Gauvey Herbert, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Co-Executive Producers: Abigail Rowe, Christian Vasquez, Max Allman - Social Studies
Creator/Executive Producer: Lauren Greenfield
Executive Producers: Wallis Annenberg, Regina K. Scully, Andrea van Beuren, Frank Evers, Caryn Capotosto
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
- Baby Reindeer
Creator/Executive Producer: Richard Gadd
Executive Producers: Wim De Greef, Petra Fried, Matt Jarvis, Ed Macdonald - Diarra From Detroit
Creator/Executive Producer: Diarra Kilpatrick
Executive Producers: Kenya Barris, Miles Orion Feldsott, Darren Goldberg
Co-Executive Producers: Ester Lou, Mark Ganek - English Teacher
Creator/Executive Producer: Brian Jordan Alvarez
Executive Producers: Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel, Dave King
Co-Executive Producers: Kathryn Dean, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn - Fantasmas
Creator/Executive Producer: Julio Torres
Executive Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Olivia Gerke, Alex Bach, Daniel Powell
Co-Executive Producer: Ali Herting - Shōgun
Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
Executive Producers: Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell
Co-Executive Producers: Shannon Goss, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Jamie Vega Wheeler
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
- Brian Jordan Alvarez
English Teacher - Richard Gadd
Baby Reindeer - Lily Gladstone
Under the Bridge - Kathryn Hahn
Agatha All Along - Cristin Milioti
The Penguin - Julianne Moore
Mary & George - Hiroyuki Sanada
Shōgun - Anna Sawai
Shōgun - Andrew Scott
Ripley - Julio Torres
Fantasmas
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
- Tadanobu Asano
Shōgun - Enrico Colantoni
English Teacher - Betty Gilpin
Three Women - Chloe Guidry
Under the Bridge - Moeka Hoshi
Shōgun - Stephanie Koenig
English Teacher - Patti LuPone
Agatha All Along - Nava Mau
Baby Reindeer - Ruth Negga
Presumed Innocent - Brian Tee
Expats
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
- Jessica Gunning
Baby Reindeer - Diarra Kilpatrick
Diarra From Detroit - Joe Locke
Agatha All Along - Megan Stott
Penelope - Hoa Xuande
The Sympathizer
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
How to Die Alone
Ensemble Cast: Melissa DuPrey, Jaylee Hamidi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Arkie Kandola, Elle Lorraine, Michelle McLeod, Chris “CP” Powell, Conrad Ricamora, Natasha Rothwell, Jocko Sims
The Spirit Awards winners will be revealed at a private luncheon on February 22, 2025, at Santa Monica Beach. Returning host Aidy Bryant will guide the event, which will stream live on IMDb and Film Independent’s YouTube channel.
For independent film enthusiasts and creators alike, the Spirit Awards serve as a reminder of the enduring power of unique storytelling. From low-budget features to boundary-pushing TV series, the awards highlight the vibrant creativity thriving outside mainstream Hollywood.
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