Film Independent honored the year’s most compelling independent voices at the 41st annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, held today in Los Angeles. Hosted by actress and comedian Ego Nwodim, the ceremony streamed live on Film Independent’s and IMDb’s YouTube channels.
This year’s ceremony delivered a mix of expected standouts and surprise wins. In the film categories, Train Dreams led with three awards, including Best Feature, Best Director for Clint Bentley, and Best Cinematography for Adolpho Veloso.
Other major film honors included Rose Byrne for Best Lead Performance for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You; Naomi Ackie for Best Supporting Performance and Eva Victor for Best Screenplay, both for Sorry, Baby; Alex Russell for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay for Lurker; and Kayo Martin for Best Breakthrough Performance for The Plague. The Secret Agent won Best International Film, The Perfect Neighbor took Best Documentary, and Sofía Subercaseaux earned Best Editing for The Testament of Ann Lee.
On the television side, Adolescence dominated with four awards, marking the most wins for a single series since the Spirit Awards began recognizing television in 2021. The show claimed Best New Scripted Series, Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series for Stephen Graham, Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series for Erin Doherty, and Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series for Owen Cooper.
Additional television honors went to Pee-wee as Himself for Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series and Chief of War for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series.
The 18th annual Robert Altman Award was presented to The Long Walk director Francis Lawrence, casting director Rich Delia, and the film’s ensemble cast, including Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, and Garrett Wareing.
Esta Isla (This Island) received the John Cassavetes Award, honoring the best feature made for under $1 million. Previously announced honors were also recognized during the ceremony: Tatti Ribeiro of Valentina received the Someone to Watch Award; Rajee Samarasinghe of Your Touch Makes Others Invisible received the Truer Than Fiction Award; and Tony Yang was honored with the Producers Award, sponsored by Producers United.
The following is a complete list of the Spirit Awards winners:
FILM CATEGORIES
Best Feature
Train Dreams (Netflix)
Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman
Best Director
Clint Bentley, Train Dreams (Netflix)
Best Screenplay
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby (A24)
Best First Feature
Lurker (MUBI)
Director: Alex Russell
Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby
Best First Screenplay
Alex Russell, Lurker (MUBI)
John Cassavetes Award
(for best feature made under $1,000,000)
Esta Isla (This Island)
Writers/Directors/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina
Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos
Best Breakthrough Performance
Kayo Martin, The Plague (Independent Film Company)
Best Supporting Performance
Naomi Ackie, Sorry, Baby (A24)
Best Lead Performance
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)
Robert Altman Award
The Long Walk (Lionsgate)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Casting Director: Rich Delia
Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing
Best Cinematography
Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams (Netflix)
Best Editing
Sofía Subercaseaux, The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
Best International Film
The Secret Agent (NEON)
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Best Documentary
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Director/Producer: Geeta Gandbhir
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne
Someone to Watch Award
Tatti Ribeiro, Valentina
Truer Than Fiction Award
Rajee Samarasinghe, Your Touch Makes Others Invisible
Producers Award presented by Producers United
Tony Yang
TELEVISION CATEGORIES
Best New Scripted Series
Adolescence (Netflix)
Creators/Executive Producers: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham
Executive Producers: Philip Barantini, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Nina Wolarsky, Hannah Walters, Mark Herbert, Emily Feller
Co-Executive Producers: Carina Sposato, Niall Shamma, Peter Balm
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO Max)
Executive Producers: Matt Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, Kyle Martin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Owen Cooper, Adolescence (Netflix)
Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Erin Doherty, Adolescence (Netflix)
Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Stephen Graham, Adolescence (Netflix)
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Chief of War (Apple TV)
Ensemble Cast: Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale’o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, James Udom
For more Awards Season coverage, click here.
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