FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Seanna Hore, Ginsberg/Libby
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2023 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS FILM NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

All Award Winners, Including in New Performance Categories, to be Announced
at the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards on March 4 in Santa Monica

Chloé Zhao and Siân Heder Announced as Honorary Co-Chairs

LOS ANGELES (November 22, 2022) – Film Independent, the nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering independence and inclusivity in visual storytelling, announced this morning the nominations for the film categories at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Film Independent President Josh Welsh introduced the prerecorded video announcements, which featured guest presenters Raúl Castillo (2019 Spirit Award nominee for We Are Animals), and Taylour Paige (2022 Spirit Award winner for Zola). You can watch the nominations here, which include the previously announced category updates.

“We couldn’t be more honored to celebrate this year’s exciting film nominees,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “As the Film Independent Spirit Awards evolve with our changing industry, including embracing non-gendered categories, we look to these artists to lead us into the future. And as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our Artist Development programs, we are incredibly proud to have Film Independent Fellows Siân Heder and Chloé Zhao return as our honorary co-chairs.”

The 2023 Best Feature nominees included Bones and All, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Tár, Women Talking and Our Father, the Devil. Everything Everywhere All At Once led all films with eight total nominations, including Best Director for Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, and acting nominations for stars Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu. Tár received seven nominations including Best Director for Todd Field and acting nominations for Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss.

New to the nominations this year is the Best Breakthrough Performance category, honoring actors making themselves known to wider audiences through noteworthy character portrayals. The nominees include, in addition to Stephanie Hsu, Frankie Corio of Aftersun, Gracija Filipović of Murina, Lily McInerny of Palm Trees and Power Lines and Daniel Zolghadri of Funny Pages.

Also new this year is a switch to gender neutral acting awards, with the separate lead and supporting actor and actress categories being replaced by the ten-nominee Best Lead and Best Supporting Performance awards.

Women Talking, from director Sarah Polley, was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon a single film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman, known for populating his films with extraordinary ensemble casts.

In addition to the film nominees, Academy Award-winning filmmakers and previous Film Independent Fellows Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals) and Siân Heder (Coda, Tallulah) were announced as the honorary co-chairs of the 38th Spirit Awards. Both co-chairs were also recognized at the 2021 Spirit Awards, where Chloé Zhao won Best Director, Best Editing and Best Feature for Nomadland, and Siân Heder was nominated for Best New Scripted Series for Little America. Previous honorary chairs include Kristen Stewart, Shaka King and Ava DuVernay.

Celebrating creative independence, diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision, the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards will take place on Saturday, March 4, 2023. The in-person show, held on the beach in Santa Monica, will be streamed internationally across multiple online and digital platforms. The Spirit Awards are the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round slate of programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity and inclusion in the industry.

This year the Spirit Awards Film Nominating Committees selected nominees from over 25 different countries, applying the following guidelines in determining nominees: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter, economy of means. The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees are comprised of writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors, critics, casting directors, film festival programmers and other working film professionals. Of all nominated writers and directors, 61% are women and 34% are BIPOC. Of all nominated actors, 70% are women and 27% are BIPOC. And of all 2023 nominees, 51% are women and 33% are BIPOC. This year, the Spirit Awards nominating committees are 50% female, 6% Nonbinary, 3% Transgender, and 61% BIPOC; 32% identify as LGBTQ+ and 8% identify as people with disabilities (PWD).

Spirit Awards nominations in television-specific categories will be announced separately on Tuesday, December 13.

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?

As always, winners are selected by Members of Film Independent. Members must be current as of December 20 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 learn more about attending the Spirit Awards and supporting Film Independent’s mission and programs, please contact Jennifer Murby at jmurby@filmindependent.org.

To learn about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kate Walker D’Angelo at kwalker@filmindependent.org.

To learn more about the Spirit Awards eligibility rules and regulations, please visit filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/faq.

Press and publicist credential applications for the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards will open on December 13, 2022. For any questions regarding credentials, please contact Jason Berger at publicity@filmindependent.org.
 

2023 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS FILM NOMINATIONS

 
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

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
 

ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT

For over 40 years, Film Independent has helped filmmakers get their projects made and seen. The nonprofit organization’s core mission is to champion creative independence in visual storytelling and support a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision.

In addition to producing the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the organization supports creative professionals with Artist Development programs, grants and labs. Signature mentorship program Project Involve fosters the careers of talented filmmakers from underrepresented communities. Weekly Education events and workshops equip filmmakers of all ages and experience levels with tools and resources. Global Media Makers, a cultural exchange program produced in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, provides career-building opportunities for international film professionals. And year-round screening series Film Independent Presents delivers monthly, unique cinematic experiences to Members in Los Angeles and beyond.

For more information or to become a Member, visit filmindependent.org.
 
 
Please note: For specific listings of the number of nominations by distributor and nominations by title, click the ‘Download’ button below to view a PDF of this release.

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