They’re Finally Here! The 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards Film Nominations Announced!
The end of the year is always a very exciting time for we cinephiles… anticipation and thrill are compounded this year, as the film industry roars back to life in a big way. After almost two years of nightmarish stop-and-start production delays and pandemic-induced theater closures, awards season is finally bustling at a frenzied pace again with an abundance of bold and exciting titles.
After months of curating projects of all stripes (features, docs, series – you name it), while hosting a seemingly endless stream of Film Independent Presents screenings, and watching countless worthy, compelling titles, we’re ready to unveil the nominees.
This morning, we announced the Film Independent Spirit Awards film nominees for the 38th annual awards ceremony, set to return in-person to the beach at Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, March 4, 2023. For the third year, the Spirit Awards will also be recognizing outstanding achievement in uniqueness of vision, innovation, and boldness in TV and streaming. As a reminder, television category nominees will be announced separately by Orange Is the New Black alum, Asia Kate Dillon, on Tuesday, December 13.
Quickly, before we get to the film nominees, let’s revisit how these Spirit Awards will be different from years past…
What’s New This Year
As we’ve previously shared, here are some changes to this year’s Spirit Awards:
- For the first time in Spirit Awards history, acting categories are gender neutral, with the former separate lead and supporting actor and actress categories being replaced by the ten-nominee Best Lead and Best Supporting Performance awards
- A new award category – Best Breakthrough Performance – will honor performers making themselves known to wider audiences through noteworthy character portrayals
- The budget cap for eligible films has increased to $30 million
- The cap for the John Cassavetes Award has increased (from $500,000) to $1,000,000
And Now… The Film Nominees
The film nominees for the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards were revealed this morning on our YouTube channel, with special guest presenters Raúl Castillo (2019 Spirit Awards nominee for We Are Animals) and Taylour Paige (2022 Spirit Awards winner for Zola).
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
Bones and All
Producers: Timothée Chalamet, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Luca Guadagnino, David Kajganich, Lorenzo Mieli, Marco Morabito, Gabriele Moratti, Theresa Park, Peter Spears
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Producers: Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang
Our Father, the Devil
Producers: Ellie Foumbi, Joseph Mastantuono
Tár
Producers: Todd Field, Scott Lambert, Alexandra Milchan
Women Talking
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Frances McDormand
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
Aftersun
Director: Charlotte Wells
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski
Emily the Criminal
Director: John Patton Ford
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Aubrey Plaza, Drew Sykes
The Inspection
Director: Elegance Bratton
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Chester Algernal Gordon
Murina
Director: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
Producers: Danijel Pek, Rodrigo Teixeira
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Director/Producer: Jamie Dack
Producer: Leah Chen Baker
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000; Award given to the writer, director, and producer)
The African Desperate
Writer/Director/Producer: Martine Syms
Writer/Producer: Rocket Caleshu
Producer: Vic Brooks
The Cathedral
Writer/Director: Ricky D’Ambrose
Producer: Graham Swon
Holy Emy
Writer/Director: Araceli Lemos
Writer/Producer: Giulia Caruso
Producers: Mathieu Bompoint, Ki Jin Kim, Konstantinos Vassilaros
A Love Song
Writer/Director/Producer: Max Walker-Silverman
Producers: Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey
Something in the Dirt
Writer/Director/Producer: Justin Benson
Director/Producer: Aaron Moorhead
Producer: David Lawson Jr.
BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Field
Tár
Kogonada
After Yang
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Sarah Polley
Women Talking
Halina Reijn
Bodies Bodies Bodies
BEST SCREENPLAY
Lena Dunham
Catherine Called Birdy
Todd Field
Tár
Kogonada
After Yang
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Sarah Polley
Women Talking
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Joel Kim Booster
Fire Island
Jamie Dack, Audrey Findlay; Story by Jamie Dack
Palm Trees and Power Lines
K.D. Dávila
Emergency
Sarah DeLappe, Story by Kristen Roupenian
Bodies Bodies Bodies
John Patton Ford
Emily the Criminal
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Cate Blanchett
Tár
Dale Dickey
A Love Song
Mia Goth
Pearl
Regina Hall
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Paul Mescal
Aftersun
Aubrey Plaza
Emily the Criminal
Jeremy Pope
The Inspection
Andrea Riseborough
To Leslie
Taylor Russell
Bones and All
Michelle Yeoh
Everything Everywhere All At Once
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Jamie Lee Curtis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Brian Tyree Henry
Causeway
Nina Hoss
Tár
Brian d’Arcy James
The Cathedral
Ke Huy Quan
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Trevante Rhodes
Bruiser
Theo Rossi
Emily the Criminal
Mark Rylance
Bones and All
Jonathan Tucker
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Gabrielle Union
The Inspection
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE (New Award)
Frankie Corio
Aftersun
Gracija Filipović
Murina
Stephanie Hsu
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Lily McInerny
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Daniel Zolghadri
Funny Pages
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Florian Hoffmeister
Tár
Hélène Louvart
Murina
Gregory Oke
Aftersun
Eliot Rockett
Pearl
Anisia Uzeyman
Neptune Frost
BEST EDITING
Ricky D’Ambrose
The Cathedral
Dean Fleischer Camp, Nick Paley
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Blair McClendon
Aftersun
Paul Rogers
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Monika Willi
Tár
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast)
Women Talking
Director: Sarah Polley
Casting Directors: John Buchan, Jason Knight
Ensemble Cast: Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, Ben Whishaw, August Winter
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
All That Breathes
Director/Producer: Shaunak Sen
Producers: Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons
A House Made of Splinters
Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont
Producers: Monica Hellström
Midwives
Director/Producer: Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
Producers: Mila Aung-Thwin, Ulla Lehmann, Bob Moore
Riotsville, U.S.A.
Director: Sierra Pettengill
Producers: Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Corsage
Austria/Luxembourg/France/Belgium/Italy/England
Director: Marie Kreutzer
Joyland
Pakistan/USA
Director: Saim Sadiq
Leonor Will Never Die
Philippines
Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar
Return to Seoul
Cambodia
Director: Davy Chou
Saint Omer
France
Director: Alice Diop
PRODUCERS AWARD presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey – 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.
Liz Cardenas
Tory Lenosky
David Grove Churchill Viste
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.
Adamma Ebo
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Nikyatu Jusu
Nanny
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.
Isabel Castro
Mija
Reid Davenport
I Didn’t See You There
Rebeca Huntt
Beba
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are supported by the Official Spirit, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, and the Official Water, FIJI Water. Getty Images is the Official Photographer.
Want to vote for the Spirit Awards?
As always, the Spirit Awards winners are voted on exclusively by Film Independent Members. Members must be current as of December 20, 2022 to receive full voting benefits, including access to nominee screeners. To join Film Independent and vote on the Spirit Awards, please visit filmindependent.org/join to Join. Watch. Vote.
The Spirit Awards is the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity and inclusion within the filmed entertainment industry. To learn more about attending and supporting Film Independent’s mission and programs, please click here. To support our work with a donation, please click here.
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[Header: Special guest presenters Raúl Castillo and Taylour Paige.]
