
The big tent was erected at the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, CA, for the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, with host Hasan Minhaj. “Everything Everywhere All At Once” won all seven of its nominated categories, including Best Feature, Director, and Screenplay. Presenting the Best Director award were two Spirit Award alums, Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”) and Sian Heder (“CODA”), who both went on to win Oscars. You’ve got to wonder if Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert will follow suit.
Apart from “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” the night’s biggest winner was diversity and inclusivity, with all the award winners spanning a full range of nationalities and gender identities. Also spotlighted were the gender-neutral acting categories, where four of the five winners were female, and all five were people of color. Reid Davenport received a standing ovation as he accepted the Truer Than Fiction award and grant money, calling for more inclusion for disabled artists. At the end of the Awards, Daniel Kwan begged those in attendance and watching at home to continue being agents of change, no matter what.



BEST FEATURE
Presented by Julia Louis-Dreyfus
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
Produced by Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang
—
“Bones and All” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
“Our Father, The Devil” (Solid Stripe Films)
“TÁR” (Focus Features)
“Women Talking” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)



BEST FIRST FEATURE
Presented by Kevin Bacon
“Aftersun” (A24)
Directed by Charlotte Wells
Produced by Mark Ceryak, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, and Adele Romanski
—
“Emily the Criminal” (Vertical Entertainment / Roadside Attractions)
“The Inspection” (A24)
“Murina” (Kino Lorber)
“Palm Trees and Power Lines” (A Fiesta Island Films production, in association with Neon Heart Productions)



JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000)
Presented by Taylour Paige & Troy Kotsur
“The Cathedral” (MUBI)
Written/Directed by Ricky D’Ambrose
Produced by Graham Swon
—
“The African Desperate” (MUBI)
“Holy Emy“ (StudioBauhaus)
“A Love Song” (Bleecker Street)
“Something in the Dirt” (XYZ Films)



BEST DIRECTOR
Presented by Chloe Zhao & Sian Heder
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
—
Todd Field — “TÁR” (Focus Features)
Kogonada — “After Yang” (A24)
Sarah Polley — “Women Talking” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
Halina Reijn — “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (A24)



BEST SCREENPLAY
Presented by Jamie Lee Curtis
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
—
“After Yang” — Kogonada (A24)
“Catherine Called Birdy” — Lena Dunham (Amazon Studios)
“TÁR” — Todd Field (Focus Features)
“Women Talking” — Sarah Polley (MGM / United Artists Releasing)



BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Presented by Sharon Horgan
“Emily the Criminal” (Vertical Entertainment / Roadside Attractions)
John Patton Ford
—
“Bodies Bodies Bodies” — Sarah DeLappe (Story by Kristen Roupenian) (A24)
“Emergency” — K.D. Dávila (Amazon Studios)
“Fire Island” — Joel Kim Booster (Searchlight Pictures)
“Palm Trees and Power Lines” — Jamie Dack, Audrey Findlay, Story by Jamie Dack (A Fiesta Island Films + Neon Heart Productions)



BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Presented by Maggie Gyllenhaal
Michelle Yeoh
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
—
Cate Blanchett — “TÁR” (Focus Features)
Dale Dickey — “A Love Song” (Bleecker Street)
Mia Goth — “Pearl” (A24)
Regina Hall — “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” (Focus Features)
Paul Mescal — “Aftersun” (A24)
Aubrey Plaza — “Emily the Criminal” (Vertical Entertainment / Roadside Attractions)
Jeremy Pope — “The Inspection” (A24)
Andrea Riseborough — “To Leslie” (Momentum Pictures)
Taylor Russell — “Bones and All” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)



BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Presented by Aubrey Plaza
Ke Huy Quan
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
—
Jamie Lee Curtis — “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
Brian Tyree Henry — “Causeway” (A24)
Nina Hoss — “TÁR” (Focus Features)
Brian D’Arcy James — “The Cathedral” (MUBI)
Theo Rossi — “Emily the Criminal” (Vertical Entertainment / Roadside Attractions)
Trevante Rhodes — “Bruiser” (Onyx Collective)
Mark Rylance — “Bones and All” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
Jonathan Tucker — “Palm Trees and Power Lines” (A Fiesta Island Films + Neon Heart Productions)
Gabrielle Union — “The Inspection” (A24)



BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Presented by Danielle Deadwyler & Jeremy Pope
Stephanie Hsu
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
—
Frankie Corio — “Aftersun” (A24)
Gracija Filipović — “Murina” (Kino Lorber)
Lily McInerny — “Palm Trees and Power Lines” (A Fiesta Island Films + Neon Heart Productions)
Daniel Zolghadri — “Funny Pages” (A24)



BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Presented by Michaela Jaé Rodriguez & Joel Kim Booster
“TÁR” (Focus Features)
Florian Hoffmeister
Produced by Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang
—
“Aftersun” — Gregory Oke (A24)
“Murina” — Hélène Louvart (Kino Lorber)
“Neptune Frost” — Anisia Uzeyman (Kino Lorber)
“Pearl” — Eliot Rockett (A24)



BEST EDITING
Presented by Haley Lu Richardson & Adam Brody
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (A24)
Paul Rogers
—
“Aftersun” — Blair McClendon (A24)
“The Cathedral” — Ricky D’Ambrose (MUBI)
“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” — Dean Fleischer Camp, Nick Paley (A24)
“TÁR” — Monika Willi (Focus Features)



BEST DOCUMENTARY
Presented by W. Kamau Bell
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
(NEON, Participant, HBO)
Directed/Produced by Laura Poitras
Produced by Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, and John Lyons
—
“All That Breathes” (HBO Documentary Films)
“A House Made of Splinters” (Final Cut For Real)
“Midwives” (Columbia TriStar Television)
“Riotsville, U.S.A.” (Magnolia Pictures)



BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Presented by Melanie Lynskey & Paul Mescal
“Joyland” (Film Constellation)
Directed by Saim Sadiq
—
“Corsage” (IFC Films)
“Leonor Will Never Die” (Music Box Films)
“Return to Seoul” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Saint Omer” (Super LTD)



ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Presented by Marisa Tomei
“Women Talking” (MGM / United Artists Releasing)
Directed by Sarah Polley
Casting Directed by John Buchan and Jason Knight
Ensemble Cast including Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, Ben Whishaw, and August Winter

TELEVISION



BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Presented by Jenny Slate & Nicholas Braun
“The Bear” (FX)
Creator/Executive Producer: Christopher Storer
Executive Producers: Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, Hiro Murai, Nate Matteson
Co-Executive Producer: Rene Gube
—
“Pachinko” (Apple TV+)
“The Porter” (BET+)
“Severance” (Apple TV+)
“Station Eleven” (HBO Max)



BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Presented by Sheryl Lee Ralph
“The Rehearsal” (HBO Max)
Creator/Executive Produced by Nathan Fielder
Executive Produced by Dave Paige, Dan McManus, and Christie Smith
Co-Executive Produced by Carrie Kemper and Eric Notarnicola
—
“Children Of The Underground” (FX)
“Mind Over Murder” (HBO Max)
“Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” (Netflix)
“We Need To Talk About Cosby” (Showtime)



BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Presented by Molly Shannon
Quinta Brunson
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
—
Aml Ameen — “The Porter” (BET+)
Mohammed Amer — “Mo” (Netflix)
Bridget Everett — “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)
KaMillion — “Rap Sh!t” (HBO Max)
Melanie Lynskey — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
Himesh Patel — “Station Eleven” (HBO Max)
Sue Ann Pien — “As We See It” (Amazon Prime Video)
Adam Scott — “Severance” (Apple TV+)
Ben Whishaw — “This Is Going to Hurt” (AMC+)



BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Presented by Stephanie Hsu & Jodie Turner-Smith
Ayo Edebiri
“The Bear” (FX)
—
Danielle Deadwyler — “Station Eleven” (HBO Max)
Jeff Hiller — “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)
Gbemisola Ikumelo — “A League of Their Own” (Amazon Prime Video)
Janelle James — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach — “The Bear” (FX)
Frankie Quiñones — “This Fool” (Hulu)
Sheryl Lee Ralph — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
Molly Shannon — “I Love That For You” (Showtime)
Tramell Tillman — “Severance” (Apple TV+)



BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Presented by Daniel Dae Kim
“Pachinko” (Apple TV+)
Ensemble Cast including Soji Arai, Jin Ha, Inji Jeong, Minha Kim, Kaho Minami, Lee Minho, Steve Sanghyun Noh, Anna Sawai, Jimmi Simpson, Yuh-jung Youn
Creator/Executive Producer: Soo Hugh
Executive Producers: Michael Ellenberg, Lindsey Springer, Theresa Kang-Lowe, Richard Middleton, Justin Chon, Kogonada
Co-Executive Producers: Dani Gorin, Sebastian Lee, David Kim, Ethan Kuperberg

SPECIAL HONORS
Presented by Simona Tabasco & Beatrice Grannò



PRODUCERS AWARD
The Producers Award, now in its 26th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.
Tory Lenosky
“Resurrection” & “The Hater”
—
Liz Cardenas — “A Ghost Story,” “Never Goin’ Back,” & “7 Days”
David Grove Churchill Viste — “Adopt a Highway” & “The Voyeurs”



SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 29th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
Nikyatu Jusu
“Nanny” (Amazon Studios)
—
Adamma Ebo — “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.”
Araceli Lemos — “Holy Emy”



TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 28th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Reid Davenport
“I Didn’t See You There”
—
Isabel Castro — “Mija”
Rebeca Huntt — “Beba”

