We kid, we kid. The Spirit Awards are, in fact, extraordinarily unique among Hollywood awards shows—an all-day celebration of independent film in amazing location that acts as the primarily fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round calendar of events, international programs, filmmaker education and artist development programs.
Then again, some things never change—like the fact that Spirit Award winners are voted on exclusively by Film Independent Members. Join by Dec 5 to receive awards screeners and full Spirit Award Member benefits. And as of this morning, you have some added incentive… The 2020 Film Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced this morning, November 21, at The LINE LA in Los Angeles—presented by Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Joker) and Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black, Russian Doll) and recognizing yet another tremendous group of independent storytellers. The 2020 Spirit Awards take place February 8, 2020, broadcast live on IFC. Phew! So without further delay, here are this year’s nominees:
BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the producer) Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng Producers: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear McClard, Scott Rudin
BEST FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer) Director: Olivia Wilde Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman Director: Michael Angelo Covino Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin Director: Kent Jones Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman Director/Producer: Joe Talbot Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Producer: Ilan Goldman Director: Stefon Bristol Producer: Spike Lee
BEST DIRECTOR
Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse Alma Har’el, Honey Boy Julius Onah, Luce Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers
BEST SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story Jason Begue, Shawn Snyder, To Dust Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems Chinonye Chukwu, Clemency Tarell Alvin McCraney, High Flying Bird
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Fredrica Bailey, Stefon Bristol, See You Yesterday Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, Driveways Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy, Blow the Man Down Jocelyn Deboer, Dawn Luebbe, Greener Grass Andrew Patterson, Craig W. Sanger, The Vast of Night
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director and producer) Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer, Wendell Pierce, Isaac Web, Cassandra Youmans Writer/Director: Tom Quinn Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky Writer/Producer: Alice Austen Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green Writer: Zora Howard Producers: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron
BEST MALE LEAD
Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luce Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Karen Allen, Colewell Hong Chau, Driveways Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell Mary Kay Place, Diane Renée Zellweger, Judy Alfre Woodard, Clemency
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse Noah Jupe, Honey Boy Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers Taylor Russell, Waves Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell Lauren “Lolo” Spencer, Give Me Liberty Octavia Spencer, Luce
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Todd Banhazl, Hustlers Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse Natasha Braier, Honey Boy Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommer
BEST EDITING
Julie Béziau, The Third Wife Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems Tyler L. Cook, Sword of Trust Louise Ford, The Lighthouse Kirill Mikhanovsky, Give Me Liberty
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Director: Karim Aïnouz Director: Ladj Ly Director: Bong Joon-ho Director: Céline Sciamma Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L. Director: Joanna Hogg
BEST DOCUMENTARY
(Award given to the director and producer) Director/Producers: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert Producers: Julia Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Peterson Director: Edward Watts Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab Director: Tamara Kotevska Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov Producer: Atanas Georgiev Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Award given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast) Director: Noah Baumbach Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever
BONNIE AWARD SPONSORED BY AMERICAN AIRLINES
(Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the 3rd annual Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.) Marielle Heller Kelly Reichardt Lulu Wang
PRODUCERS AWARD
(The Producers Award, now in its 23rd year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.) Mollye Asher Krista Parris Ryan Zacarias
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD, PRESENTED BY BULLEIT FONTIER WHISKEY
(The Someone to Watch Award Presented By Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, now in its 26th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.) Director: Rashaad Ernesto Green Director: Joe Talbot Director: Ash Mayfair
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
(The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 25th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.) Director: Davy Rothbart Directors: Erick Stoll, Chase Whiteside Director: Khalik Allah Director: Nadia Shihab “At a time when the film business is undergoing such change and challenges, it’s important to loudly celebrate the work itself–the films!–and to recognize 2019 as a year of bold, audacious and accomplished filmmaking,” said President of Film Independent Josh Welsh.
The 2020 Film Independent Sprit Awards will be held Saturday, February 8 on the beach in Santa Monica, broadcast live EXCLUSIVELY on IFC at 2:00 pm PT/5:00 pm ET. See the full list of nominees here. Interested in attending the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards? Contact Jennifer Murby at 323 556 9353 or jmurby@filmindependent.org to learn more. The Film Independent Spirit Awards are sponsored by Premier Sponsors American Airlines, IFC and Mazda. Bulleit Frontier Whiskey is the Official Spirit. FIJI Water is the Official Water. Getty Images is the Official Photographer. Town & Country Event Rentals is the Exclusive Rental Company.
