The 2019 Film Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced this morning at the W Hotel in Hollywood, presented by Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians, Mary Queen of Scots) and Molly Shannon (Other People, Private Life) and featuring yet another diverse group of talented creators with a shared belief in the power and promise of independent storytelling. The 2019 Spirit Awards will be held February 23, 2019 at its usual spot on the beach in Santa Monica and broadcast live on IFC. To vote for the winners of this year’s awards, become a Film Independent Member by December 6 for full voter benefits—including screeners and access to our Member screening series n Los Angeles. Okay! Now that that’s all out of the way, let’s meet this year’s nominees…
BEST FEATURE
EIGHTH GRADE
Producers: Eli Bush, Scott Rudin, Christopher Storer, Lila Yacoub
FIRST REFORMED
Producers: Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Gary Hamilton, Victoria Hill, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, Deepak Sikka, Christine Vachon
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Producers: Dede Gardner, Barry Jenkins, Jeremy Kleiner, Sara Murphy, Adele Romanski
LEAVE NO TRACE
Producers: Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini
YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Producers: Rosa Attab, Pascal Caucheteux, Rebecca O’Brien, Lynne Ramsay, James Wilson (Award given to the producer)
BEST FIRST FEATURE
HEREDITARY
Director: Ari Aster Producers: Kevin Frakes, Lars Knudsen, Buddy Patrick
SORRY TO BOTHER YOU
Director: Boots Riley Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jonathan Duffy, Charles D. King, George Rush, Forest Whitaker, Kelly Williams
THE TALE
Director/Producer: Jennifer Fox Producers: Oren Moverman, Laura Rister, Mynette Louie, Simone Pero, Lawrence Inglee, Sol Bondy, Regina K. Scully, Lynda Weinman, Reka Posta
WE THE ANIMALS
Director: Jeremiah Zagar Producers: Andrew Goldman, Christina D. King, Paul Mezey, Jeremy Yaches
WILDLIFE
Director/Producer: Paul Dano Producers: Andrew Duncan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark, Alex Saks (Award given to the producer and director)
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Schrader, First Reformed Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk Debra Granik, Leave No Trace Tamara Jenkins, Private Life Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here
BEST SCREENPLAY
Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Richard Glatzer (writer, story by), Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Wash Westmoreland, Colette Paul Schrader, First Reformed Tamara Jenkins, Private Life Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Quinn Shephard (writer, story by), Laurie Shephard (story by), Blame Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade Christina Choe, Nancy Jennifer Fox, The Tale Cory Finley, Thoroughbreds
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
A BREAD FACTORY
Writer/Director/Producer: Patrick Wang Producers: Daryl Freimark, Matt Miller
EN EL SÉPTIMO DÍA
Writer/Director/Producer: Jim McKay Producers: Alex Bach, Lindsey Cordero, Caroline Kaplan, Michael Stipe
NEVER GOIN’ BACK
Writer/Director: Augustine Frizzell Producers: Liz Cardenas, Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston
SÓCRATES
Writer/Director/Producer: Alex Moratto Writer: Thayná Mantesso Producers: Ramin Bahrani, Jefferson Paulino, Tammy Weiss
THUNDER ROAD
Writer/Director: Jim Cummings Producers: Natalie Metzger, Zack Parker, Benjamin Weissner (Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000; given to the writer, director and producer)
BEST MALE LEAD
Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting Ethan Hawke, First Reformed John Cho, Searching Christian Malheiros, Sócrates Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade Toni Collette, Hereditary Helena Howard, Madeline’s Madeline Regina Hall, Support the Girls Glenn Close, The Wife Carey Mulligan, Wildlife
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Adam Driver, BLACKkKLANSMAN Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Josh Hamilton, Eighth Grade John David Washington, Monsters and Men Raúl Castillo, We the Animals
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Tyne Daly, A Bread Factory Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Leave No Trace J. Smith-Cameron, Nancy Kayli Carter, Private Life
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ashley Connor, Madeline’s Madeline Benjamin Loeb, Mandy Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Suspiria Zak Mulligan, We the Animals Diego Garcia, Wildlife
BEST EDITING
Luke Dunkley, Nick Fenton, Chris Gill, Julian Hart, American Animals Nick Houy, Mid90s Anne Fabini, Alex Hall, Gary Levy, The Tale Keiko Deguchi, Brian A. Kates, Jeremiah Zagar, We the Animals Joe Bini, You Were Never Really Here
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
BURNING (South Korea)
Director: Lee Chang-Dong
HAPPY AS LAZZARO (Italy)
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
ROMA (Mexico)
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
SHOPLIFTERS (Japan)
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu
THE FAVOURITE (United Kingdom)
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
BEST DOCUMENTARY
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
Director/Producer: RaMell Ross Producer: Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim
MINDING THE GAP
Director/Producer: Bing Liu Producer: Diane Quon
OF FATHERS AND SONS
Director: Talal Derki Producers: Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, Tobias N. Siebert
ON HER SHOULDERS
Director: Alexandria Bombach Producers: Hayley Pappas, Brock Williams
SHIRKERS
Director/Producer: Sandi Tan Producers: Jessica Levin, Maya E. Rudolph
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Director/Producer: Morgan Neville Producer: Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma (Award given to the director and producer)
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
SUSPIRIA
Director: Luca Guadagnino Casting Directors: Avy Kaufman, Stella Savino Ensemble Cast: Malgosia Bela, Ingrid Caven, Lutz Ebersdorf, Elena Fokina, Mia Goth, Jessica Harper, Dakota Johnson, Gala Moody, Chloë Grace Moretz, Fabrizia Sacchi, Renée Soutendijk, Tilda Swinton, Sylvie Testud, Angela Winkler (Award given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
BONNIE AWARD SPONSORED BY AMERICAN AIRLINES
Karyn Kusama Tamara Jenkins Debra Granik (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 second annual Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.)
PRODUCERS AWARD
Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams Gabrielle Nadig Shrihari Sathe (The Producers Award, now in its 22nd 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.)
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
LEMONADE
Director: Ioana Uricaru
SÓCRATES
Director: Alex Moratto
WE THE ANIMALS
Director: Jeremiah Zagar (The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 25th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted.)
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
Director: RaMell Ross
MINDING THE GAP
Director: Bing Liu
ON HER SHOULDERS
Director: Alexandria Bombach (The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 24th 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.) Watch the entire press conference below and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel all season long for more Spirit Awards coverage.
More highlights…
Pretty awesome, eh? And only you can help determine this year’s winners. Members of Film Independent who join by December 6 will enjoy our complete suite of Spirit Awards benefits, including screeners of select nominated films and access to free theatrical screenings of ALL nominated films in LA.
To see who else is nominated at this year’s 34th Film Independent Spirit Awards click here. The 2019 Film Independent Sprit Awards will be held Saturday, February 23 back on the beach in Santa Monica and broadcast live EXCLUSIVELY on IFC at 5:00pm ET / 2:00pm PT. The 2019 Spirit Awards is sponsored by Premier Sponsors American Airlines, AT&T, IFC and Subaru of America, Inc. Rocket Mortgage® by Quicken Loans® is the Official Sponsor of the Voting Process. FIJI Water is the Official Water. Hangar One Vodka and Maestro Dobel Tequila are the Official Spirits. JNSQ Wines is the Official Wine. Getty Images is the Official Photographer. Town & Country Event Rentals is the Exclusive Rental Company.
