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
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