41st Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

Yesterday, December 3, 2025, Film Independent, the nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering independence and inclusivity in visual storytelling, announced the nominations for the 2025 edition of the Spirit Awards.

According to their press release this edition has a record number of works and artists being honored and yes, we can tell by just reading the list that has many unexpected newcomers to the 2025=2026 awards season, so there could be Oscar consideration for some of the below nominees.

Peter Hujar's Day leads the pack with 5 nominations followed by Blue Sun Palace; Lurker; One of Them Days; Sorry, Baby; and Train Dreams with 4 nominations each, and Lucky Lu, The Plage and Twinless getting 3 each.

After reading about each of the below films noticed some films premiered in Cannes 2025 but didn't win any major award, same with those premiering at 2025 Sundance, odd. But my greatest discovery was to find an American movie with Mads Mikkelsen! Yes, Mads is the "Intriguing Neighbor" in Dust Bunny and he "helps a young girl to kill the monster under her bed" (LOL).

Awards ceremony will be hosted at the Hollywooed Palladium, after years at the beach in Santa Monica, on Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 5pm ET/2pm PT. The show will be streamed live on the Film Independent and IMDb YouTube channels, and across our social platforms.

The Nominations

Best Feature
Peter Hujar's Day, Ira Sachs, USA, Germany, UK, and Spain
The Plague, Charlie Polinger, Australia, UAE, USA, and Romania
Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor, USA, Spain and France
Train Dreams, Clint Bentley, USA 
Twinless, James Sweeney, USA 

Best First Feature
Blue Sun Palace, Constance Tsang, USA
Dust Bunny, Bryan Fuller, USA
East of Wall, Kate Beecroft, USA
Lurker, Alex Russell, USA and Italy
One of Them Days, Lawrence Lamont, USA

John Cassavetes Award
Given to the best feature made for under US$1 million
The Baltimorons, Jay Duplass, USA
Boys Go to Jupiter, Julian Glander, USA
Eephus, Carson Lund, USA and France
Esta Isla (This Island), Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones Molina, Puerto Rico
Familiar Touch, Sarah Friedland, USA

Best International Film
Ally baqi mink (All That's Left of You), Cherien Dabis, Palestine, Jordan, Germany, and Cyprus
O Agente Secreto (The Secret Agent), Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil, France, Netherlands and Germany
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Rungano Nyoni, Zambia, UK, and Ireland
Sirāt, Oliver Laxe, Spain and France
Un Poeta (A Poet), Simón Mesa Soto, Colombia, Germany and Sweden

Best Documentary
Come See Me in the Good Light, Ryan White, USA
Endless Cookie, Peter Scriver and Seth Scriver, Canada (animation)
My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow, Julia Loktev, USA and Russia
The Perfect Neighbor, Geeta Gandbhir, USA
The Tale of Silyan, Tamara Kotevska, USA and North Macedonia

Best Director
Clint Bentley for Train Dreams, Clint Bentley, USA
Mary Bronstein for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Mary Bronstein, USA
Lloyd Lee Choi for Lucky Lu, Lloyd Lee Choi,  USA and Canada
Ira Sachs for Peter Hujar's Day, Ira Sachs, USA, Germany, UK, and Spain 
Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor, USA, Spain and France

Best Screenplay
Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin for Splitsville, Michael Angelo Covino, USA 
Angus Maclachlan for A Little Prayer, Angus MacLachlan, USA
James Sweeney for Twinless, James Sweeney, USA
Christian Swegal for Sovereign, Christian Swegal, USA 
Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor, USA, Spain and France

Best First Screenplay
Adrew DeYoung for Friendship, Andrew DeYoung, USA 
Elena Oxman for Outerlands, Elena Osman, USA 
Alex Russell for Lurker, Alex Russell, USA and Italy
Syreeta Singleton for One of Them Days, Lawrence Lamont, USA
Constance Tsang for Blue Sun Palace, Constance Tsang, USA

Best Lead Performance
Everett Blunk in The Plague, Charlie Polinger, Australia, UAE, USA, and Romania 
Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Mary Bronstein, USA
Kathleen Chalfant in Familiar Touch, Sarah Friedland, USA 
Chang Chen in Lucky Lu, Lloyd Lee Choi,  USA and Canada
Joel Edgerton in Train Dreams, Clint Bentley, USA
Dylan O'Brien in Twinless, James Sweeney, USA
Keke Palmer in One of Them Days, Lawrence Lamont, USA
Théodore Pellerin in Lurker, Alex Russell, USA and Italy
Tessa Thompson in Hedda, Nia DaCosta, USA
Ben Whishaw in Peter Hujar's Day, Ira Sachs,  USA, Germany, UK, and Spain

Best Supporting Performance
Naomi Ackie in Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor, USA, Spain and France
Zoey Deutch in Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater, USA and France
Kirsten Dunst in Roofman, Derek Cianfrance, USA
Rebecca Hall in Peter Hujar's Day, Ira Sachs,  USA, Germany, UK, and Spain
Nina Hoss in Hedda, Nia DaCosta, USA
Jane Levy in A Little Prayer, Angus MacLachlan, USA
Archie Madekwe in Lurker, Alex Russell, USA and Italy
Kali Reis in Rebuilding, Max Walker-Silverman, USA
Jacob Tremblay in Sovereign, Christian Swegal, USA
Haipeng Xu in Blue Sun Palace, Constance Tsang, USA

Best Breakthrough Performance
Liz Larsen in The Baltimorons, Jay Duplass, USA
Misha Osherovich in She's the He, Siobhan McCarthy
Kayo Martin in The Plague, Charlie Polinger, Australia, UAE, USA, and Romania
SZA in One of Them Days, Lawrence Lamont, USA
Tabatha Zimiga in East of Wall, Kate Beecroft, USA

Best Cinematography
Alex Ashe for Peter Hujar's Day, Ira Sachs, USA, Germany, UK, and Spain
Norm Li for Blue Sun Palace, Constance Tsang, USA
David J. Thompson for Warfare, Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, USA and UK
Adolpho Veloso for Train Dreams, Clint Bentley, USA
Nicole Hirsch Whitaker for Dust Bunny, Bryan Fuller, USA

Best Editing
Ben Leonberg for Good Boy, Ben Leonberg, USA 
Carson Lund for Eephus, Carson Lund, USA and France
Fin Oates for Warfare, Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, USA and UK
Sara Shaw for Splitsville, Michael Angelo Covino, USA
Sofía Subercaseaux for The Testament of Ann Lee, Mona Fastvold, USA and UK

Robert Altman Award
Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
The Long Walk, Francis Lawrence, USA and Canada
Director Francis Lawrence, Casting Director Delia and
Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, and Garrett Wareing.

Emerging Filmmaker Awards

Producers Award
Honors an emerging producer who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrates the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.
Emma Hannaway
Luca Intilli
Tony Yang

Someone to Watch Award
Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
Tatti Ribeiro for Valentina, Tatti Ribeiro, USA
Neo Sora for Happyend, Neo Sora, Japan, USA, Singapore, and UK
Annapurna Sriram for Fucktoys, Annapurna Sriram, USA

Truer Than Fiction Award
Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Tony Benna for André is an Idiot, Tony Benna, USA
Rajee Samarasinghe for Your Touch Makes Others Invisible, Rajee Samarasinghe, USA and Sri Lanka
Brittany Shyne for Seeds, Britany Shyne, USA

To check the nominees including television categories go official site here.

The Announcement Video