The 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning celebrating the best of the year in independent cinema. This year’s press conference was streamed live from THE LINE LA and presented by actors Zazie Beetz and Natasha Lyonne as they announced the nominees in 19 categories.
The Lighthouse and Uncut Gems became the most nominated films of the year with five nominations each. Honey Boy also did well with four nominations including Best Director although the film missed out on a Best Feature nomination. Some of the very welcome surprises include A Hidden Life for Best Featute, a strong showing for Luce, and a nomination for Renée Zellweger. Some of the biggest omissions included a near shut out of Waves, Awkwafina in Lead Actress, and zero nominations for The Peanut Butter Falcon.
It will be interesting to see what films receive a momentum boost from the first major list of nominations. Will this help keep Honey Boy, Hustlers, Uncut Gems, and The Lighthouse in the minds of voters?
The 2020 Spirit Awards will be broadcast live on Saturday, February 8th exclusively on IFC.
BEST FEATURE
- A Hidden Life
- Clemency
- The Farewell
- Marriage Story
- Uncut Gems
BEST FIRST FEATURE
- Booksmart
- The Climb
- Diane
- The Last Black Man in San Francicso
- The Mustang
- See You Yesterday
BEST DIRECTOR
- Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
- Alma Har’el, Honey Boy
- Julius Onah, Luce
- Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
- Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers
BEST FEMALE LEAD
- Karen Allen, Colewell
- Hong Chau, Driveways
- Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell
- Mary Kay Place, Diane
- Alfre Woodard, Clemency
- Renee Zellwegger, Judy
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 SUPPORTING FEMALE
- Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
- Taylor Russell, Waves
- Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
- Lauren “Lolo” Spencer, Give Me Liberty
- Octavia Spencer, Luce
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
- Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
- Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
- Shaif LaBeouf, Honey Boy
- Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Marriage Story
- To Dust
- Uncut Gems
- Clemency
- High Flying Bird
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
- Yesterday
- Driveways
- Blow the Man Down
- Greener Grass
- The Vast of Night
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Hustlers
- The Lighthouse
- Honey Boy
- The Third Wife
- Midsommar
BEST EDITING
- The Third Wife
- Uncut Gems
- Sword of Trust
- The Lighthouse
- Give Me Liberty
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
- Burning Cane
- Colewell
- Give Me Liberty
- Premature
- Wild Nights with Emily
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
- Marriage Story
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- American Factory
- Apollo 11
- For Sama
- Honeyland
- Island of the Hungry Ghosts
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
- Invisible Life
- Les Miserables
- Parasite
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Retablo
- The Souvenir
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
- Mollye Asher
- Krista Parris
- Ryan Zacarias
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
- Rashaad Ernesto Green, Premature
- Ash Mayfair, The Third Wife
- Joe Talbot, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
- Khalik Allah, Black Mother
- Davy Rothbart, 17 Blocks
- Nadia Shihab, Jaddoland
- Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside, America
ANNUAL BONNIE AWARD
- Marielle Heller
- Kelly Reichhardt
- LuLu Wang
