2022 was almost an unfair year for the Film Independent Spirit Awards. One movie towers over not just the Spirit Awards but EVERYTHING. That movie is “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” and I’ve picked it in EVERYWHERE I could. It’s the most original, well-made film in its categories and deserves to win not just these awards but many Oscar nominations. If “Everything Everywhere All At Once” wins all the nominated categories, it will win seven Spirit Awards, including Best Feature, Director, and Screenplay.

I also loved “Murina,” so I picked it to win Best First Feature and Cinematography. Best Breakthrough Performance was the closest I got to awarding anything over “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” in which I would have picked Gracija Filipović in “Murina,” but Stephanie Hsu’s performance is the definition of “breakthrough performance.” “TÁR” didn’t quite live up to its hype, so I don’t have it winning anything and would now love to see Michelle Yeoh win over Cate Blanchett at the Oscars. In the First Screenplay category, I’ve picked “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” “Emily the Criminal” and “Palm Tree and Power Lines” were close seconds, but both rely mainly on their extraordinary cast and performances. At the same time, “Bodies” was such a strong script it could have worked with almost any ensemble.

The Best Documentary was a difficult category to narrow down, as I enjoyed a few about the same. Ultimately, I went with “All That Breathes” because it felt like the more important subject matter and showcased the best cinematography of the bunch. “A House Made of Splinters” and “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” were both enjoyable, but years from now, “All That Breathes” will likely be the more memorable movie. The International Film category was tough. I didn’t pick the film I liked the most; I chose the one I disliked the least. “Corsage” received my vote by process of elimination, as none of them entirely held the weight that would make me call the film the “best of the year.”

On the television end, “The Bear” was the series that completely blew me away, so that was my choice for Best New Scripted Series and Ebon Moss-Bachrach for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series. “Severance” was a close second on my list of Best Scripted Series, so I awarded my vote of Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series to Adam Scott, who is playing two very different roles in a subtle but expert way. “Yellowjackets” was also one of my favorite new series of 2022, so Melanie Lynskey was a close second. The Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series was underwhelming this year, but I picked “We Need to Talk About Cosby” because it felt like the more passionate and well-thought-out series.

For members of the Film Independent, the deadline to vote on the awards is today by 5:00 PST. The awards will be handed out on Saturday, March 4, at 2:00 PM PST at the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, CA. Hasan Minhaj will host as the ceremony streams live on the Film Independent’s YouTube channel.

BEST FEATURE

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)

Produced by Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang


2. “Women Talking” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
3. “TÁR” (Focus Features)
4. “Bones and All” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
5. “Our Father, The Devil” (Solid Stripe Films)

BEST FIRST FEATURE

“MURINA” (Kino Lorber)

Directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
Produced by Danijel Pek, Rodrigo Teixeira


2. “Aftersun” (A24)
3. “Emily the Criminal” (Vertical Entertainment / Roadside Attractions)
4. “Palm Trees and Power Lines” (A Fiesta Island Films production, in association with Neon Heart Productions)
5. “The Inspection” (A24)

BEST DIRECTOR

Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)


2. Sarah Polley — “Women Talking” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
3. Todd Field — “TÁR” (Focus Features)
4. Kogonada — “After Yang” (A24)
5. Halina Reijn — “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (A24)

BEST SCREENPLAY

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert


2. “Women Talking” — Sarah Polley (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
3. “TÁR” — Todd Field (Focus Features)
4. “After Yang” — Kogonada (A24)
5. “Catherine Called Birdy” — Lena Dunham (Amazon Studios)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

“Bodies Bodies Bodies” (A24)
Sarah DeLappe (Story by Kristen Roupenian)


2. “Emily the Criminal” — John Patton Ford (Vertical Entertainment / Roadside Attractions)
3. “Palm Trees and Power Lines” — Jamie Dack, Audrey Findlay, Story by Jamie Dack (A Fiesta Island Films + Neon Heart Productions)
4. “Emergency” — K.D. Dávila (Amazon Studios)
5. “Fire Island” — Joel Kim Booster (Searchlight Pictures)

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Michelle Yeoh
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)


2. Cate Blanchett — “TÁR” (Focus Features_
3. Aubrey Plaza — “Emily the Criminal” (Vertical Entertainment / Roadside Attractions)
4. Mia Goth — “Pearl” (A24)
5. Paul Mescal — “Aftersun” (A24)
6. Andrea Riseborough — “To Leslie” (Momentum Pictures)
7. Jeremy Pope — “The Inspection” (A24)
8. Dale Dickey — “A Love Song” (Bleecker Street)
9. Taylor Russell — “Bones and All” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
10. Regina Hall — “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” (Focus Features)

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

Ke Huy Quan
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)


2. Brian Tyree Henry — “Causeway” (A24)
3. Nina Hoss — “TÁR” (Focus Features)
4. Jamie Lee Curtis — “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
5. Jonathan Tucker — “Palm Trees and Power Lines” (A Fiesta Island Films + Neon Heart Productions)
6. Theo Rossi — “Emily the Criminal” (Vertical Entertainment / Roadside Attractions)
7. Trevante Rhodes — “Bruiser” (Onyx Collective)
8. Mark Rylance — “Bones and All” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
9. Gabrielle Union — “The Inspection” (A24)
10. Brian D’Arcy James — “The Cathedral” (MUBI)

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Stephanie Hsu
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)


2. Gracija Filipović — “Murina” (Kino Lorber)
3. Frankie Corio — “Aftersun” (A24)
4. Lily McInerny — “Palm Trees and Power Lines” (A Fiesta Island Films + Neon Heart Productions)
5. Daniel Zolghadri — “Funny Pages” (A24)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Murina” (Kino Lorber)
Hélène Louvart

Produced by Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang


2. “TÁR” — Monika Willi (Focus Features)
3. “Pearl” — Eliot Rockett (A24)
4. “Aftersun” — Gregory Oke (A24)
5. “Neptune Frost” — Anisia Uzeyman (Kino Lorber)

BEST EDITING

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
Paul Rogers


2. “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” — Dean Fleischer Camp, Nick Paley (A24)
3. “TÁR” — Monika Willi (Focus Features)
4. “Aftersun” — Blair McClendon (A24)
5. “The Cathedral” — Ricky D’Ambrose (MUBI)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

“All That Breathes” (HBO Documentary Films)

Directed by Shaunak Sen
Produced by Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann


2. “A House Made of Splinters” (Final Cut For Real)
3. “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (NEON, Participant, HBO)
4. “Midwives” (Columbia TriStar Television)
5. “Riotsville, U.S.A.” (Magnolia Pictures)

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

“Corsage” (IFC Films)

Directed by Marie Kreutzer


2. “Return to Seoul” (Sony Pictures Classics)
3. “Saint Omer” (Super LTD)
4. “Joyland” (Film Constellation)
5. “Leonor Will Never Die” (Music Box Films)

TELEVISION

BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

“The Bear” (FX)

Creator/Executive Producer: Christopher Storer
Executive Producers: Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, Hiro Murai, Nate Matteson
Co-Executive Producer: Rene Gube


2. “Severance” (Apple TV+)
3. “Pachinko” (Apple TV+)
4. “Station Eleven” (HBO Max)
5. “The Porter” (BET+)

BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES

“We Need To Talk About Cosby” (Showtime)

Executive Produced by W. Kamau Bell, Andrew Fried, Katie A. King, Vinnie Malhotra,
Dane Lillegard, Sarina Roma, Jordan Wynn
Co-Executive Produced by Geraldine L. Porras


2. “The Rehearsal” (HBO Max)
3. “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” (Netflix)
4. “Mind Over Murder” (HBO Max)
5. “Children Of The Underground” (FX)

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

Adam Scott
“Severance” (Apple TV+)


2. Melanie Lynskey — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
3. Ben Whishaw — “This Is Going to Hurt” (AMC+)
4. Mohammed Amer — “Mo” (Netflix)
5. Quinta Brunson — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
6. Himesh Patel — “Station Eleven” (HBO Max)
7. KaMillion — “Rap Sh!t” (HBO Max)
8. Bridget Everett — “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)
9. Aml Ameen — “The Porter” (BET+)
10. Sue Ann Pien — “As We See It” (Amazon Prime Video)

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

Ebon Moss-Bachrach
“The Bear” (FX)


2. Ayo Edebiri — “The Bear” (FX)
3. Tramell Tillman — “Severance” (Apple TV+)
4. Danielle Deadwyler — “Station Eleven” (HBO Max)
5. Frankie Quiñones — “This Fool” (Hulu)
6. Sheryl Lee Ralph — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
7. Molly Shannon — “I Love That For You” (Showtime)
8. Janelle James — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
9. Gbemisola Ikumelo — “A League of Their Own” (Amazon Prime Video)
10. Jeff Hiller — “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)

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