Today, Film Independent announced the nominees for the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Focus Features’ Never Rarely Sometimes Always led the pack with seven nominations. Minari followed with six bids. The Best Feature category includes both films as well as First Cow, Nomadland, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
One Night in Miami received the Robert Altman Award, bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman, who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts.
Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Thursday, April 22, 2021. The awards ceremony will move from its usual spot as a live daytime event to primetime on Thursday, broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 10pm ET / 7pm PT.
FEATURE CATEGORIES
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
First Cow
Producers: Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Producers: Todd Black, Denzel Washington, Dany Wolf
Minari
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina Oh
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Producers: Sara Murphy, Adele Romanski
Nomadland
Producers: Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Chloé Zhao
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
I Carry You With Me
Director/Producer: Heidi Ewing
Producers: Edher Campos, Mynette Louie, Gabriela Maire
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Director/Producer: Radha Blank
Producers: Inuka Bacote-Capiga, Jordan Fudge, Rishi Rajani, Jennifer Semler, Lena Waithe
Miss Juneteenth
Director: Channing Godfrey Peoples
Producers: Toby Halbrooks, Tim Headington, Jeanie Igoe, James M. Johnston, Theresa Steele Page, Neil Creque Williams
Nine Days
Director: Edson Oda
Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Mette-Marie Kongsved, Matthew Linder, Laura Tunstall, Datari Turner
Sound of Metal
Director: Darius Marder
Producers: Bill Benz, Kathy Benz, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
The Killing of Two Lovers
Writer/Director/Producer: Robert Machoian
Producers: Scott Christopherson, Clayne Crawford
La Leyenda Negra
Writer/Director: Patricia Vidal Delgado
Producers: Alicia Herder, Marcel Perez
Lingua Franca
Writer/Director/Producer: Isabel Sandoval
Producers: Darlene Catly Malimas, Jhett Tolentino, Carlo Velayo
Residue
Writer/Director: Merawi Gerima
Saint Frances
Director/Producer: Alex Thompson
Writer: Kelly O’Sullivan
Producers: James Choi, Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Eddie Linker, Raphael Nash, Roger Welp
BEST DIRECTOR
Lee Isaac Chung
Minari
Emerald Fennell
Promising Young Woman
Eliza Hittman
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Kelly Reichardt
First Cow
Chloé Zhao
Nomadland
BEST SCREENPLAY
Lee Isaac Chung
Minari
Emerald Fennell
Promising Young Woman
Eliza Hittman
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Mike Makowsky
Bad Education
Alice Wu
The Half of It
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Kitty Green
The Assistant
Noah Hutton
Lapsis
Channing Godfrey Peoples
Miss Juneteenth
Andy Siara
Palm Springs
James Sweeney
Straight Up
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jay Keitel
She Dies Tomorrow
Shabier Kirchner
Bull
Michael Latham
The Assistant
Hélène Louvart
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Joshua James Richards
Nomadland
BEST EDITING
Andy Canny
The Invisible Man
Scott Cummings
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Merawi Gerima
Residue
Enat Sidi
I Carry You With Me
Chloé Zhao
Nomadland
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Nicole Beharie
Miss Juneteenth
Viola Davis
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Sidney Flanigan
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Julia Garner
The Assistant
Frances McDormand
Nomadland
Carey Mulligan
Promising Young Woman
BEST MALE LEAD
Riz Ahmed
Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Adarsh Gourav
The White Tiger
Rob Morgan
Bull
Steven Yeun
Minari
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Alexis Chikaeze
Miss Juneteenth
Yeri Han
Minari
Valerie Mahaffey
French Exit
Talia Ryder
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Yuh-jung Youn
Minari
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Colman Domingo
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Orion Lee
First Cow
Paul Raci
Sound of Metal
Glynn Turman
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Benedict Wong
Nine Days
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
One Night in Miami…
Director: Regina King
Casting Directors: Kimberly R. Hardin
Ensemble Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
Collective
Director/Producer: Alexander Nanau
Producers: Hanka Kastelicová, Bernard Michaux, Bianca Oana
Crip Camp
Directors/Producers: Jim LeBrecht, Nicole Newnham
Producer: Sara Bolder
Dick Johnson is Dead
Director/Producer: Kirsten Johnson
Producers: Katy Chevigny, Marilyn Ness
The Mole Agent
Director: Maite Alberdi
Producer: Marcela Santibáñez
Time
Director/Producer: Garrett Bradley
Producers: Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Bacurau
Brazil
Directors: Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho
The Disciple
India
Director: Chaitanya Tamhane
Night of the Kings
Ivory Coast
Director: Philippe Lacôte
Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
Hungary
Director: Lili Horvát
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Director: Jasmila Žbanić
PRODUCERS AWARD – The Producers Award, now in its 24th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.
Kara Durrett
Lucas Joaquin
Gerry Kim
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 27th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
David Midell
Director of The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
Ekwa Msangi
Director of Farewell Amor
Annie Silverstein
Director of Bull
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 26th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Cecilia Aldarondo
Director of Landfall
Elegance Bratton
Director of Pier Kids
Elizabeth Lo
Director of Stray
TV CATEGORIES
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children
Executive Producers: Jeff Dupre, Joshua Bennett, Sam Pollard, Maro Chermayeff, John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorius
City So Real
Produced by: Zak Piper, Steve James
Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Alex Kotlowitz, Gordon Quinn, Betsy Steinberg, Jolene Pinder
Immigration Nation
Executive Producers: Christina Clusiau, Shaul Schwarz, Dan Cogan, Jenny Raskin, Brandon Hill, Christian Thompson
Co-Executive Producers: Andrey Alistratov, Jay Arthur Sterrenberg, Lauren Haber
Love Fraud
Executive Producers: Rachel Grady, Heidi Ewing, Amy Goodman Kass, Vinnie Malhotra, Jihan Robinson, Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman
We’re Here
Creators/Executive Producers: Stephen Warren, Johnnie Ingram
Executive Producers: Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Peter LoGreco
Co-Executive Producers: Erin Haglund, Sabrina Mar
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
I May Destroy You
Creator/Executive Producer: Michaela Coel
Executive Producers: Phil Clarke, Roberto Troni
Little America
Executive Producers: Lee Eisenberg, Joshuah Bearman, Joshua Davis, Arthur Spector, Alan Yang, Siân Heder, Kumail Nanjiani, Emily V. Gordon
Small Axe
Executive Producers: Tracey Scoffield, David Tanner, Steve McQueen
A Teacher
Creator/Executive Producer: Hanna Fidell
Executive Producers: Michael Costigan, Kate Mara, Louise Shore, Jason Bateman, Danny Brocklehurst
Co-Executive Producer: Daniel Pipski
Unorthodox
Creator/Executive Producer: Anna Winger
Creator: Alexa Karolinski
Executive Producer: Henning Kamm
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Elle Fanning
The Great
Shira Haas
Unorthodox
Abby McEnany
Work in Progress
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
Never Have I Ever
Jordan Kristine Seamón
We Are Who We Are
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Conphidance
Little America
Adam Ali
Little America
Nicco Annan
P-Valley
Amit Rahav
Unorthodox
Harold Torres
Zero, Zero, Zero
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
I May Destroy You
Ensemble Cast: Michaela Coel, Paapa Essiedu, Wruche Opia,
Stephen Wight
