Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, Todd Haynes’ May December, and Celine Song’s Past Lives lead the nominations for the 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards with five nods each including Best Feature. Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up will be honoured with the Robert Altman Award, which goes to a film’s director, casting directors, and ensemble cast.
This year the Spirit Awards Film Nominating Committees selected nominees from over 27 different countries with budget ranges between $10,000 and $28 million, applying the following guidelines in determining nominees: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter and economy of means. Of all nominated writers, directors, producers and technical artists, 40% are women and 32% are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). Among the nominated performers, 49% are women and 40% are BIPOC. And of all 2024 nominees, 42% are women and 34% are 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 56% female, 3% non-binary, 3% Transgender, and 49% BIPOC; 29% identify as LGBTQ+ and 3% identify as people with disabilities (PWD).
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards will take place in Santa Monica on February 25, 2023. Full list of nominations below.
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
May December
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon
Passages
Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd
Past Lives
Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
We Grown Now
Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Director: Raven Jackson
Producers: Maria Altamirano, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
Director: Tomás Gómez Bustillo
Producers: Gewan Brown, Amanda Freedman
Earth Mama
Director/Producer: Savanah Leaf
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Shirley O’Connor, Medb Riordan, Cody Ryder
A Thousand and One
Director: A.V. Rockwell
Producers: Julia Lebedev, Rishi Rajani, Eddie Vaisman, Lena Waithe, Brad Weston
Upon Entry
Directors: Alejandro Rojas, Juan Sebastián Vásquez
Producers: Sergio Adrià, Carlos Juárez, Alba Sotorra, Carles Torras, Xosé Zapata
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer)
The Artifice Girl
Director/Writer: Franklin Ritch
Producers: Aaron B. Koontz, Ashleigh Snead
Cadejo Blanco
Director/Writer/Producer: Justin Lerner
Producers: Mauricio Escobar, Ryan Friedkin, Jack Patrick Hurley
Fremont
Director/Writer: Babak Jalali
Writer: Carolina Cavalli
Producers: Rachael Fung, Chris Martin, Marjaneh Moghimi, George Rush, Sudnya Shroff, Laura Wagner
Rotting in the Sun
Director/Writer: Sebastián Silva
Writer: Pedro Peirano
Producer: Jacob Wasserman
The Unknown Country
Director/Writer/Producer: Morrisa Maltz
Writer: Lily Gladstone
Writers/Producers: Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, Vanara Taing
Producers: Katherine Harper, Laura Heberton, Tommy Heitkamp
BEST DIRECTOR
Andrew Haigh
All of Us Strangers
Todd Haynes
May December
William Oldroyd
Eileen
Ira Sachs
Passages
Celine Song
Past Lives
BEST SCREENPLAY
David Hemingson
The Holdovers
Cord Jefferson
American Fiction
Laura Moss, Brendan J. O’Brien
Birth/Rebirth
Emma Seligman, Rachel Sennott
Bottoms
Celine Song
Past Lives
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik
May December
Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, Ben Platt
Theater Camp
Tomás Gómez Bustillo
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
Laurel Parmet
The Starling Girl
Alejandro Rojas, Juan Sebastián Vásquez
Upon Entry
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Jessica Chastain
Memory
Greta Lee
Past Lives
Trace Lysette
Monica
Natalie Portman
May December
Judy Reyes
Birth/Rebirth
Franz Rogowski
Passages
Andrew Scott
All of Us Strangers
Teyana Taylor
A Thousand and One
Jeffrey Wright
American Fiction
Teo Yoo
Past Lives
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Erika Alexander
American Fiction
Sterling K. Brown
American Fiction
Noah Galvin
Theater Camp
Anne Hathaway
Eileen
Glenn Howerton
BlackBerry
Marin Ireland
Eileen
Charles Melton
May December
Da’Vine Joy Randolph
The Holdovers
Catalina Saavedra
Rotting in the Sun
Ben Whishaw
Passages
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Marshawn Lynch
Bottoms
Atibon Nazaire
Mountains
Tia Nomore
Earth Mama
Dominic Sessa
The Holdovers
Anaita Wali Zada
Fremont
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Katelin Arizmendi
Monica
Eigil Bryld
The Holdovers
Jomo Fray
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Pablo Lozano
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
Pat Scola
We Grown Now
BEST EDITING
Santiago Cendejas, Gabriel Díaz, Sofía Subercaseaux
Rotting in the Sun
Stephanie Filo
We Grown Now
Daniel Garber
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Jon Philpot
Theater Camp
Emanuele Tiziani
Upon Entry
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
Showing Up
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Casting Director: Gayle Keller
Ensemble Cast: André Benjamin, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Heather Lawless, James Le Gros, John Magaro, Matt Malloy, Amanda Plummer, Maryann Plunkett, Denzel Rodriguez, Michelle Williams
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
Bye Bye Tiberias
Director: Lina Soualem
Producer: Jean-Marie Nizan
Four Daughters
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Producer: Nadim Cheikhrouha
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Directors/Producers: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson
Producer: Tommy Oliver
Kokomo City
Director: D. Smith
Producers: Bill Butler, Harris Doran
The Mother of All Lies
Director/Producer: Asmae El Moudir
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Anatomy of a Fall
France
Director: Justine Triet
Godland
Denmark/Iceland
Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Mami Wata
Nigeria
Director: C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi
Tótem
Mexico
Director: Lila Avilés
The Zone of Interest
United Kingdom, Poland, USA
Director: Jonathan Glazer
PRODUCERS AWARD presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey – The Producers Award, now in its 27th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.
Rachael Fung
Graham Swon
Monique Walton
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 30th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
Joanna Arnow
Director of The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
Laura Moss
Director of Birth/Rebirth
Monica Sorelle
Director of Mountains
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 29th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Set Hernandez
Director of unseen
Jesse Short Bull, Laura Tomaselli
Director of Lakota Nation vs. United States
Sierra Urich
Director of Joonam
