Wouldn’t you know it, the Film Independent Spirit Awards are now old enough to run for President, just in time for the 2020 elections. That’s right: this year’s ceremony recognizing the best (and budget-friendliest) in independent cinema marks the awards’ 35th anniversary. First begun as a casual industry luncheon tucked into the dining room of a small West Hollywood eatery, the Spirit Awards have steadily ascended in prominence and prestige, growing to its current state—to a much nicer lunch inside a tent a few miles West, in Santa Monica.

We kid, we kid. The Spirit Awards are, in fact, extraordinarily unique among Hollywood awards shows—an all-day celebration of independent film in amazing location that acts as the primarily fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round calendar of events, international programs, filmmaker education and artist development programs.

Then again, some things never change—like the fact that Spirit Award winners are voted on exclusively by Film Independent Members. Join by Dec 5 to receive awards screeners and full Spirit Award Member benefits. And as of this morning, you have some added incentive…

The 2020 Film Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced this morning, November 21, at The LINE LA in Los Angeles—presented by Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Joker) and Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black, Russian Doll) and recognizing yet another tremendous group of independent storytellers. The 2020 Spirit Awards take place February 8, 2020, broadcast live on IFC. Phew! So without further delay, here are this year’s nominees:

 

BEST FEATURE

(Award given to the producer)

A HIDDEN LIFE

Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter

CLEMENCY

Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong

THE FAREWELL

Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng

MARRIAGE STORY

Producers:  Noah Baumbach, David Heyman

UNCUT GEMS

Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear McClard, Scott Rudin

 

BEST FIRST FEATURE

(Award given to the director and producer)

BOOKSMART

Director: Olivia Wilde

Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman

THE CLIMB

Director: Michael Angelo Covino

Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin

DIANE

Director: Kent Jones

Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

Director/Producer: Joe Talbot

Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh

THE MUSTANG

Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Producer: Ilan Goldman

SEE YOU YESTERDAY

Director: Stefon Bristol

Producer: Spike Lee

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse

Alma Har’el, Honey Boy

Julius Onah, Luce

Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems

Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems

Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers

 

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

Andrew Patterson, Craig W. Sanger, The Vast of Night

 

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

(Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director and producer)

BURNING CANE

Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans

Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer,

Wendell Pierce, Isaac Web, Cassandra Youmans

COLEWELL

Writer/Director: Tom Quinn

Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm

GIVE ME LIBERTY

Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky

Writer/Producer: Alice Austen

Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey

Shtern

PREMATURE

Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green

Writer: Zora Howard

Producers: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes

WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY

Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek

Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron

 

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 FEMALE LEAD

Karen Allen, Colewell

Hong Chau, Driveways

Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell

Mary Kay Place, Diane

Renée Zellweger, Judy

Alfre Woodard, Clemency

  

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 SUPPORTING FEMALE

Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers

Taylor Russell, Waves

Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell

Lauren “Lolo” Spencer, Give Me Liberty

Octavia Spencer, Luce

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Todd Banhazl, Hustlers

Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse

Natasha Braier, Honey Boy

Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife

Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommer

 

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 INTERNATIONAL FILM

INVISIBLE LIFE (Brazil)

Director: Karim Aïnouz

LES MISÉRABLES (France)

Director: Ladj Ly

PARASITE (South Korea)

Director: Bong Joon-ho

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (France)

Director: Céline Sciamma

RETABLO (Peru)

Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L.

THE SOUVENIR (United Kingdom)

Director: Joanna Hogg

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY

(Award given to the director and producer)

AMERICAN FACTORY

Director/Producers: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert

Producers: Julia Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert

APOLLO 11

Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller

Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Peterson

FOR SAMA

Director: Edward Watts

Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab

HONEYLAND

Director: Tamara Kotevska

Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov

Producer: Atanas Georgiev

ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS

Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady

Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh

 

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

(Award given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)

MARRIAGE STORY

Director: Noah Baumbach

Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler

Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever

 

BONNIE AWARD SPONSORED BY AMERICAN AIRLINES

(Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the 3rd annual Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.)

Marielle Heller

Kelly Reichardt

Lulu Wang

 

PRODUCERS AWARD

(The Producers Award, now in its 23rd year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.)

Mollye Asher

Krista Parris

Ryan Zacarias

 

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD, PRESENTED BY BULLEIT FONTIER WHISKEY

(The Someone to Watch Award Presented By Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, now in its 26th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.)

PREMATURE

Director: Rashaad Ernesto Green

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

Director: Joe Talbot

THE THIRD WIFE

Director: Ash Mayfair

 

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

(The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 25th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.) 

17 BLOCKS

Director: Davy Rothbart

AMÉRICA

Directors: Erick Stoll, Chase Whiteside

BLACK MOTHER

Director: Khalik Allah

JADDOLAND

Director: Nadia Shihab

 

“At a time when the film business is undergoing such change and challenges, it’s important to loudly celebrate the work itself–the films!–and to recognize 2019 as a year of bold, audacious and accomplished filmmaking,” said President of Film Independent Josh Welsh.

The 2020 Film Independent Sprit Awards will be held Saturday, February 8 on the beach in Santa Monica, broadcast live EXCLUSIVELY on IFC at 2:00 pm PT/5:00 pm ET. See the full list of nominees here.

Interested in attending the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards? Contact Jennifer Murby at 323 556 9353 or jmurby@filmindependent.org to learn more.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards are sponsored by Premier Sponsors American Airlines, IFC and Mazda. Bulleit Frontier Whiskey is the Official Spirit. FIJI Water is the Official Water. Getty Images is the Official Photographer. Town & Country Event Rentals is the Exclusive Rental Company.