40th Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

Winners Update: last night, February 22, the organization had their awards ceremony and here are the winners in *BLUE.

Anora leads the pack with three wins, Best Feature, Best Director and Best Lead Performance followed by A Real Pain with two, Best Supporting Performance and Best Screenplay.

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December 4th, 2024
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, USA - WINNER
I Saw the TV Glow, Jane Schoenbrun, USA and UK
Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross, USA
Sing Sing, Greg Kwedar, USA
The Substance, Coralie Fargeat, UK, France and USA

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

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

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

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

Best Director
Ali Abbasi for The Apprentice, Canada, Denmark, Ireland and USA
*Sean Baker for Anora, USA - WINNER
Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, UK, USA and Hungary 
Alonzo Ruizpalacios for La Cocina, Mexico and USA
Jane Schoenbrun for I Saw the TV Glow, USA and UK

Best Screenplay
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods for Heretic. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, USA and Canada
*Jesse Eisenberg for A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg, Poland and USA - WINNER
Megan Park for My Old Ass, Megan Park, UK, Canada and USA
Aaron Schimberg for A Different Man, Aaron Schimberg, USA
Jane Schoenbrun for I Saw the TV Glow, Jane Schoenbrun, USA and UK

Best First Screenplay
Joanna Arnow for The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed, Joanna Arnow, USA
Annie Baker for Janet Planet, Annie Baker, USA and UK
India Donaldson for Good One, India Donaldson, USA
Julie Torres for Problemista, Julio Torres, USA
*Sean Wang for Didi, Sean Wang, USA - WINNER

Best Lead Performance
Amy Adams in Nightbitch, Marielle Heller, USA
Ryan Destiny in The Fire Inside, Rachel Morrison, USA
Colman Domingo in Sing Sing, Greg Kwedar, USA
Keith Kupferer in Ghostlight, Kelly O'Sullivan, USA
*Mikey Madison in Anora, Sean Baker, USA - WINNER
Demi Moore in The Substance, Coralie Fargeat, UK, France and USA
Hunter Schafer in Cuckoo, Tilman Singer, USA and Germany
Justice Smith in I Saw the TV Glow, Jane Schoenbrun, USA and UK
June Squibb in Thelma, Josh Margolin, USA and Switzerland
Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice, Ali Abassi, Canada, Denmark, Ireland and USA

Best Supporting Performance
Yura Borisov in Anora, Sean Baker, USA
Joan Chen in Didi, Sean Wang, USA
*Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg, USA and Poland - WINNER
Danielle Deadwyler in The Piano Lesson, Malcolm Washington, USA
Carol Kane in Between the Temples, Nathan Silver,  USA
Karren Karagulian in Anora, Sean Baker, USA
Kani Kusruti in Girls Will Be Girls, Shuchi Talati, India
Brigette Lundy-Paine in I Saw the TV Glow, Jane Schoenbrun, USA and UK
Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin in Sing Sing, Greg Kwedar, USA
Adam Pearson in A Different Man, Aaron Schimberg, USA

Best Breakthrough Performance
Isaac Krasner in Big Boys, Corey Sherman, USA
Katy O'Brian in Love Lies Bleeding, Rose Glass, USA and UK
Mason Alesander Park in National Anthem, Luke Gilford, USA
René Pérez Joglar in In the Summers, Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio, USA
*Maisy Stella in My Old Ass, Megan Park, UK, Canada and USA - WINNER

Best Cinematography
Dinh Duy Hung for Bên trong vo kén vàng (Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell), Thien An Pham, Vietnam, Singapore, France and Spain
*Jomo Fray for Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross, USA - WINNER
Maria von Hausswolff for Janet Planet, Annie Baker, USA and UK
Juan Pablo Ramírez for La Cocina, Alonzo Ruizpalacios, Mexico and USA
Rina Yang for The Fire Inside, Rachel Morrison, USA

Best Editing
Laura Colwell and Vanara Taing for Jazzy, Morrisa Maltz, USA
Olivier Bugge Coutté and Olivia Neergaard-Holm for The Apprentice, Ali Abassi, Canada, Denmark, Ireland and USA
Anne McCabe for Nightbitch, Marielle Heller, USA
*Hansjörg Weissbrich for September 5, Tim Fehlbaum, Germany - WINNER
Arielle Zakowski for Didi, Sean Wang, USA

Robert 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 recognition)
Nicholas Colia for Griffin in Summer, Nicholas Colia, USA
*Sarah Friedland for Familiar Touch, Sarah Friedland, USA - WINNER
Pham Thien An for Bên trong vo kén vàng (Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell), Thien An Pham, Vietnam, Singapore, France and Spain

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, Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, USA  and Canada
Carla Gutiérrez for Frida, Carla Gutiérrez, USA
*Rachel Elizabeth Seed for A Photographic Memory, Rachel Elizabeth Seed , USA - WINNER

Producers Award
Alex Coco, USA
*Sarah Winshall, USA - WINNER
Zoë Worth, USA

To check film and TV nominees go to official site here.   To check award winners in all categories go official site here.

The Awards Ceremony Video



Announcement Video