Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse and the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems are leading the pack for the 35th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, simply known as the Spirit Awards. Natasha Lyonne and Zazie Beetz announced the nominees on Thursday, November 21.
Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut for Booksmart has also been nominated. This comes after a controversy surrounding Delta Airlines’ removal of a lesbian sex scene and other mentions of female sexuality. Delta has since restored the film to its intended length.
Other nominees include Robert Pattinson and Adam Sandler for Best Male Lead, Renée Zellweger and Elizabeth Moss for Best Female Lead, and Jennifer Lopez for Best Supporting Female. A24 wins the most nominations as a distributor with 8 total. Netflix and Amazon are at 8 and 7 respectively.
Below are most of the categories for the Spirit Awards.
-Best Feature-
A Hidden Life, Clemency, The Farewell, Marriage Story, Uncut Gems
-Best Director-
Robert Eggers – The Lighthouse, Alma Har’el – Honey Boy, Julius Onah – Luce, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – Uncut Gems, Lorene Scafaria – Hustlers
-Best First Feature-
Booksmart, The Climb, Diane, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Mustang, See You Yesterday
-Best Female Lead-
Karen Allen – Colewell, Hong Chau – Driveways, Elisabeth Moss – Her Smell, Mary Kay Place – Diane, Alfre Woodard – Clemency, Renée Zellweger – Judy
-Best Male Lead-
Chris Galust – Give Me Liberty, Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Luce, Robert Pattinson – The Lighthouse, Adam Sandler – Uncut Gems, Matthias Schoenaerts – The Mustang
-Best Supporting Female-
Jennifer Lopez – Hustlers, Taylor Russell – Waves, Zhao Shuzhen – The Farewell, Lauren “Lolo” Spencer – Give Me Liberty, Octavia Spencer – Luce
-Best Supporting Male-
Willem Dafoe – The Lighthouse, Noah Jupe – Honey Boy, Shia LaBeouf – Honey Boy, Jonathan Majors – The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Wendell Pierce – Burning Cane
-Best Screenplay-
Noah Baumbach – Marriage Story, Jason Begue, Shawn Snyder – To Dust, Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – Uncut Gems, Chinonye Chukwu – Clemency, Tarell Alvin Mccraney – High Flying Bird
-Best First Screenplay-
Fredrica Bailey, Stefon Bristol – See You Yesterday, Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen – Driveways, Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy – Blow the Man Down, Jocelyn Deboer, Dawn Luebbe – Greener Grass, James Montague, Craig W. Sanger – The Vast of Night
-Best Cinematography-
Todd Banhazl – Hustlers, Jarin Blaschke – The Lighthouse, Natasha Braier – Honey Boy, Chananun Chotrungroj – The Third Wife, Pawel Pogorzelski – Midsommar
-Best Editing-
Julie Béziau – The Third Wife, Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie – Uncut Gems, Tyler L. Cook – Sword of Trust, Louise Ford – The Lighthouse, Kirill Mikhanovsky – Give Me Liberty
-Best Documentary-
American Factory, Apollo 11, For Sama, Honeyland, Island of the Hungry Ghosts
-Best International Film-
Invisible Life, Brazil, Les Miserables, France, Parasite, South Korea, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, France, Retable, Peru, The Souvenir, United Kingdom
The 2020 Spirit Awards will be airing live on Saturday, Feb. 8. on IFC, the day before the Academy Awards.
In years past, If Beale Street Could Talk, Get Out, and Moonlight have won big. The hosts of the show’s recent years have been Aubrey Plaza, Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, and Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani. Who are your picks to win in 2020? Tell us below in the comments.