40th Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

Today Film Independent, the nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering independence and inclusivity in visual storytelling, announced the nominations for the 40th annual edition of the Spirit Awards and leading the pack with 6 nominations each are Anora and I Saw the TV Glow.

This year the Spirit Awards Film Nominating Committees selected nominees from over 17 different countries with budget ranges between $112,000 to $28 million, applying the following guidelines in determining nominees: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter and economy of means. Of all the 2025 nominees, 46% are women and 30% are BIPOC. Within the nominated writers, directors, producers and technical artists, 43% are women and 24% are BIPOC. The nominated performers are 54% women and 48% BIPOC.

The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees are comprised of writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors, critics, casting directors, film festival programmers and other working film professionals. This year, the Spirit Awards nominating committees are 47% female, 10% Nonbinary, 7% Transgender, and 66% BIPOC; 45% identify as LGBTQ+ and 13% identify as people with disabilities (PWD).

As you can see below there is a big difference between the East Coast Gotham Awards and the West Coast Spirit Awards as nominations, with a few exceptions, tend to be quite different making us wonder if the awards from this group will go in a different way as A Different Man is not even nominated for Best Feature!

The 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will be overseen by returning host and Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant, will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025; show will be streamed live to YouTube from the beach in Santa Monica.

The List

Best Feature (Given to the producers)
Anora, Sean Baker
I Saw the TV Glow,
Nickel Boys,
Sing Sing,
The Substance,

Best First Feature (Given to director and producers)
Didi, Sean Wang
In the Summers, Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio,
Janet Planet, Annie Baker
The Piano Lesson, Malcom Washington
Problemista, Julio Torres

John Cassavetes Award (Given to writer, director and producer of feature made for under US$ 1 million)
Big Boys, Corey Sherman
Ghoslight, Kelly O'Sullivan
Girls Will Be Girls, Shuchi Talati,
Jazzy, Morrisa Maltz
The People's JOker, Vera Drew

Best Documentary (Given to the director and producer)
Gaucho Gaucho, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Hummingbirds, Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
No Other Land, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor
Patrice: The Movie, Ted Passon
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, Johan Grimonprez

Best International Film (Given to the director)
All We Imagine as Light, Payal Kapadia, France, India, Netherlands and Luxembourg
Black Dog, Guan Hu, China
Flow, Gints Zibalodis, Latvia, France and Belgium
Green Border, Agnieszka Holland, Poland, France, Czech Republic and Beglium
Hard Truths, Mike Leigh, UK

Best Director
Ali Abbasi for The Apprentice
Sean Baker for Anora
Brady Corbet for The Brutalist
Alonzo Ruizpalacios for La Cocina
Jane Schenbrun for I Saw the TV Glow

Best Screenplay
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods for Heretic
Jesse Esisenberg for A Real Pain
Megan Park for My Old Ass
Aaron Schimberg for A Different Man
Jane Schoenbrun for I Saw the TV Glow

Best First Screenplay
Joanna Arnow for The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
Annie Baker for Janet Planet
India Donaldson for Good One
Julie Torres for Problemista
Sean Wang for Didi

Best Lead Performance
Amy Adams in Nightbitch
Ryan Destiny in The Fire Inside
Colman Domingo in Sing Sing
Keith Kupferer in Ghostlight
Mikey Madison in Anora
Demi Moore in The Substance
Hunter Schafer in Cuckoo
Justice Smith in I Saw the TV Glow
June Squibb in Thelma
Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice

Best Supporting Performance
Yura Borisov in Anora
Joan Chen in Didi
Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain
Danielle Deadwyler in The Piano Lesson
Carol Kane in Between the Temples
Karren Karagulian in Anora
Kani Kusruti in Girls Will Be Girls
Brigette Lundy-Paine in I Saw the TV Glow
Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin in Sing Sing
Adam Pearson in A Different Man

Best Breakthrough Performance
Isaac Krasner in Big Boys
Katy O'Brian in Love Lies Bleeding
Mason Alesander Park in Natinal Anthem
René Pérez Joglar in In the Summers
Maisy Stella in My Old Ass

Best Cinematography
Dinh Duy Hung for Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell
Jomo Fray for Nickel Boys
Maria von Hausswolff for Janet Planet
Juan Pablo Ramírez for La Cocina
Rina Yang for The Fire Inside

Best Editing
Laura Colwell and Vanara Taing for Jazzy
Olivier Bugge Coutté and Olivia Neergaard-Holm for The Apprentice
Anne McCabe for Nightbitch
Hansjörg Weissbrich for September 5
Arielle Zakowski for Didi

Rober Altman Award (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast): His Three Daughters, Azazel Jacobs, USA

Someone To Watch Award (recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has notyet received appropriate recognitition)
Nicholas Colia for Griffin in Summer
Sarah Friedland for Familiar Touch
Pham Thien An for Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Truer Than Fiction Award (presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition)
Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie for Sugarcane
Carla Gutiérrez for Frida
Rachel Elizabeth Seed for A Photographic Memory

To check nominees in Film and TV categories go to official site here.

Announcement Video