This year’s Independent Spirit Awards for film was held virtually on April 22nd. The event recognized 2020’s most impressive and thought-provoking content from indie companies and filmmakers. It has been recorded that all nominated films had relatively small budgets, each coming in under $22.5 million. What stood out at this year’s Spirit Awards was the unprecedented inclusion, although minimal, of television in its awards recognition.

Hosted by SNL’s Melissa Villaseñor, the 36th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards also boasted an impressive array of celebrity presenters. Adam Sandler, Renee Zellweger, Daveed Diggs, Julia Garner, Kathryn Hahn, Annie Murphy and Lulu Wang all tuned in to virtually celebrate the past year’s indie content. 

No surprise here, Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland led the way in the film categories with four wins, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Editing. For television, Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You and Netflix’s Unorthodox received wins on behalf of their stellar acting performances. 

See the full list of noms and winners:

Best Feature

Nomadland

First Cow

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Minari

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best Female Lead

Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

Nicole Beharie – Miss Juneteenth

Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Sidney Flanigan – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Julia Garner – The Assistant

Frances McDormand – Nomadland

Someone to Watch Award

Ekwa Msangi – Farewell Amor

David Midell – The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

Annie Silverstein – Bull

Best Male Lead

Riz Ahmed – The Sound of Metal

Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Rob Morgan – Bull

Steven Yeun – Minari

Adarsh Gourav – The White Tiger

Piaget Producers Award

Gerry Kim

Kara Durrett

Lucas Joaquin

Best Director

Chloé Zhao – Nomadland

Lee Isaac Chung – Minari

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman

Eliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Kelly Reichardt – First Cow

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series

Immigration Nation

Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children

City So Real

Love Fraud

We’re Here

John Cassavetes Award

Residue

The Killing of Two Lovers

La Leyenda Negra

Lingua Franca

Saint Frances

Best Cinematography

Joshua James Richards – Nomadland

Jay Keitel – She Dies Tomorrow

Shabier Kirchner – Bull

Michael Latham – The Assistant

Hélène Louvart – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best International Film

Quo Vadis, Aida?

Bacurau

The Disciple

Night of the Kings

Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time

Best Editing

Nomadland

I Carry You With Me

The Invisible Man

Residue

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series

I May Destroy You

Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series

Amit Rahav – Unorthodox

Conphidance – Little America

Adam Ali – Little America

Nicco Annan – P-Valley

Harold Torre – Zero, Zero, Zero

Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series

Shira Haas – Unorthodox

Elle Fanning – The Great

Abby McEnany – Work in Progress

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan – Never Have I Ever

Jordan Kristine Seamón – We Are Who We Are

Robert Altman Award

One Night in Miami

Best Screenplay

Promising Young Woman

Bad Education

Minari

The Half of It

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best Documentary

Crip Camp

Collective

Dick Johnson Is Dead

Time

The Mole Agent

Best Supporting Male

Paul Raci – Sound of Metal

Colman Domingo – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Orion Lee – First Cow

Glynn Turman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Benedict Wong – Nine Days

Truer Than Fiction Award

Elegance Bratton – Pier Kids

Cecilia Aldarondo – Landfall

Best First Feature

The Sound of Metal

I Carry You With Me

The 40-Year-Old Version

Miss Juneteenth

Nine Days

Best First Screenplay

Andy Siara – Palm Springs

Kitty Green – The Assistant

Noah Hutton – Lapsis

Channing Godfrey Peoples – Miss Juneteenth

James Sweeney – Straight Up

Best Supporting Female

Yuh-jung Youn – Minari

Alexis Chikaeze – Miss Juneteenth

Yeri Han – Minari

Valerie Mahaffey – French Exit

Talia Ryder – Never Rarely Sometimes Always