F3PR: Film Independent announces nominees for the 40th anniversary 2025 Spirit Awards

PRESS RELEASE

FILM INDEPENDENT ANNOUNCES NOMINEES
FOR THE 4O^th ANNIVERSARY
2025 SPIRIT AWARDS

Historic Arts Nonprofit Celebrates 40 Years
of Supporting Independent Artists

Award Winners to be Revealed at the Ceremony
on February 22 at the Santa Monica Beach

LOS ANGELES (December 4, 2024) – Film Independent, the nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering independence and inclusivity in visual storytelling, announced this morning the award nominations for the 40^th annual edition of the Film Independent Spirit Awards. The historic anniversary milestone will celebrate this year’s nominees as well as the storied artists who have been honored across Spirit Awards’ long and influential history.

Revealed this morning in a video announcement, the film nominations were led by Anora and I Saw the TV Glow with six each. In the television categories, Shōgun garnered the most nominations with five, followed closely by Baby Reindeer and English Teacher with four apiece. Watch the announcement here:

“Since we held our first ceremony in 1985 at a restaurant on La Cienega to last year’s show when viewers around the world joined us at the Santa Monica Beach to celebrate the work of so many artists, Film Independent has continued to support independent filmmakers and enable them to achieve their vision at every stage of their career,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “As with the legendary artists from that inaugural event, and the countless others we’ve had the privilege to work with since, we’re thrilled to be honoring this group of creatives as they continue this proud legacy.”

Since that initial ceremony, where Martin Scorsese and Joel Coen shared the Best Director Prize at what was then called the FINDIE (Friends of Independents) Awards, the Spirit Awards has grown as the centerpiece of Film Independent’s year-round initiatives, honoring thousands of artists across film and, beginning in 2021, television. In 2022 the Spirit Awards further adapted to being a more inclusive and accurate representation of the film and television industry by becoming one of the first awards shows to adopt gender neutral acting awards. Artists recognized early in their careers by the Spirit Awards who went on to incredible success include the aforementioned Joel Coen, Spike Lee, Ryan Coogler, Whit Stillman, Robert Rodriguez, and Kasi Lemmons, among many, many others.

The 40^th Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will be overseen by returning host and Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant, will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025. The in-person show, held at the beach in Santa Monica, will be streamed live on the IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels, and across other social 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 celebrate creative independence, diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision in independent film and television.

“This year’s inspiring group of Spirit Award-nominated artists show the essential nature of independent art being produced today,” said Brenda Robinson, Chair of the Board of Directors for Film Independent. “Through their dedication, bravery and unique voices they have created indelible works that will be celebrated for years to come, and we’re honored to be supporting them on that journey.”

The 2025 Best Feature nominees include Anora, I Saw the TV Glow, Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, and The Substance. His Three Daughters, from director Azazel Jacobs, has been 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.

On the television side, the 2025 Best New Scripted Series nominees include Baby Reindeer, Diarra From Detroit, English Teacher, Fantasmas, and Shōgun. In the Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series category, the nominees are Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color, Hollywood Black, Photographer, Ren Faire, and Social Studies.

Further emphasizing the impact of Film Independent’s year-round work, eight of this year’s Spirit Awards nominees have previously been involved with Artist Development, the essential year-round program at the forefront of artist support and education within the film industry. They include Sean Baker (Best Feature and Best Director for Anora), Rivkah Beth Medow (Best Documentary for Hummingbirds), Jomo Fray (Best Cinematography for Nickel Boys), Jillian Schlesinger (Best Documentary for Hummingbirds), Daniel Tantalean (Best First Feature for In the Summers), Monique Walton (Best Feature for Sing Sing), Sarah Winshall (Best Feature for I Saw the TV Glow, and Producers Award), and Zoë Worth (Producers Award).

This year the Spirit Awards Film Nominating Committees selected nominees from over 17 different countries with budget ranges between $112,000 to $28 million, applying the following guidelines in determining nominees: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter and economy of means. Of all the 2025 nominees, 46% are women and 30% are BIPOC. Within the nominated writers, directors, producers and technical artists, 43% are women and 24% are BIPOC. The nominated performers are 54% women and 48% BIPOC.

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. This year, the Spirit Awards nominating committees are 47% female, 10% Nonbinary, 7% Transgender, and 66% BIPOC; 45% identify as LGBTQ+, and 13% identify as people with disabilities (PWD).

Film Independent Spirit Awards are supported by Principal Sponsor IMDbPro and Official Partners Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, FIJI Water, and Miraval Rose. Easterseals Disability Services is the Accessibility Partner. Hotel Casa del Mar and The Georgian are the Official Hotels. CULTURED Magazine is an Official Media Partner. Getty Images is the Official Photographer. Vision Media is the Exclusive Screening Partner.

2025 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD FILM NOMINATIONS

BEST FEATURE

(Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

• Anora
  Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan
• I Saw the TV Glow
  Producers: Ali Herting, Luca Intili, Dave McCary, Emma Stone, Sarah Winshall
• Nickel Boys
  Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine
• Sing Sing
  Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Monique Walton
• The Substance
  Producers: Tim Bevan, Coralie Fargeat, Eric Fellner

BEST FIRST FEATURE

(Award given to the director and producer)

• Dìdi
  Director/Producer: Sean Wang
  Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters
• In the Summers
  Director: Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio
  Producers: Janek Ambros, Lynette Coll, Alexander Dinelaris, Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz, Cristóbal Güell, Sergio Alberto Lira, Rob Quadrino, Jan Suter, Daniel Tantalean, Nando Vila, Slava Vladimirov, Stephanie Yankwitt
• Janet Planet
  Director/Producer: Annie Baker
  Producers: Andrew Goldman, Dan Janvey, Derrick Tseng
• The Piano Lesson
  Director: Malcolm Washington
  Producers: Todd Black, Denzel Washington
• Problemista
  Director/Producer: Julio Torres
  Producers: Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emma Stone

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.

• Big Boys
  Writer/Director/Producer: Corey Sherman
  Producer: Allison Tate
• Ghostlight
  Writer/Director: Kelly O’Sullivan
  Director/Producer: Alex Thompson
  Producers: Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Chelsea Krant, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson
• Girls Will Be Girls
  Writer/Director/Producer: Shuchi Talati
  Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne
• Jazzy
  Writer/Director/Producer: Morrisa Maltz
  Writer/Producer: Lainey Shangreaux
  Writers: Andrew Hajek, Vanara Taing
  Producers: Miranda Bailey, Tommy Heitkamp, John Way, Natalie Whalen, Elliott Whitton
• The People's JOker
  Writer/Director: Vera Drew
  Writer: Bri LeRose
  Producer: Joey Lyons

BEST DIRECTOR

• Ali Abbasi, The Apprentice
• Sean Baker, Anora
• Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
• Alonso Ruizpalacios, La Cocina
• Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Scott Beck & Brian Woods, Heretic
• Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
• Megan Park, My Old Ass
• Aaron Schimberg, A Different Man
• Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

• Joanna Arnow, The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
• Annie Baker, Janet Planet
• India Donaldson, Good One
• Julio Torres, Problemista
• Sean Wang, Dìdi

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

• Amy Adams, Nightbitch
• Ryan Destiny, The Fire Inside
• Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
• Keith Kupferer, Ghostlight
• Mikey Madison, Anora
• Demi Moore, The Substance
• Hunter Schafer, Cuckoo
• Justice Smith, I Saw the TV Glow
• June Squibb, Thelma
• Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

• Yura Borisov, Anora
• Joan Chen, Dìdi
• Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
• Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson
• Jack Haven, I Saw the TV Glow
• Carol Kane, Between the Temples
• Karren Karagulian, Anora
• Kani Kusruti, Girls Will Be Girls
• Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin, Sing Sing
• Adam Pearson, A Different Man

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

• Isaac Krasner, Big Boys
• Katy O'Brian, Love Lies Bleeding
• Mason Alexander Park, National Anthem
• René Pérez Joglar, In the Summers
• Maisy Stella, My Old Ass

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Dinh Duy Hung, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
• Jomo Fray, Nickel Boys
• Maria von Hausswolff, Janet Planet
• Juan Pablo Ramírez, La Cocina
• Rina Yang, The Fire Inside

BEST EDITING

• Laura Colwell & Vanara Taing, Jazzy
• Olivier Bugge Coutté & Olivia Neergaard-Holm, The Apprentice
• Anne McCabe, Nightbitch
• Hansjörg Weissbrich, September 5
• Arielle Zakowski, Dìdi

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

• His Three Daughters
  Director: Azazel Jacobs
  Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto
  Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Award given to the director and producer.

• Gaucho Gaucho
  Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
  Producers: Christos Konstantakopoulos, Cameron O’Reilly, Matthew Perniciaro
• Hummingbirds
  Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
  Co-Directors/Producers: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger
  Producers: Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow
• No Other Land
  Directors/Producers: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
  Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning
• Patrice: The Movie
  Director: Ted Passon
  Producers: Kyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily Spivack
• Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
  Director: Johan Grimonprez
  Producers: Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Award given to the director.

• All We Imagine as Light (France/India/Netherlands/Luxembourg)
  Director: Payal Kapadia
• Black Dog (China)
  Director: Guan Hu
• Flow (Latvia/France/Belgium)
  Director: Gints Zilbalodis
• Green Border (Poland/France/Czech Republic/Belgium)
  Director: Davy Chou
• Hard Truths (United Kingdom)
  Director: Mike Leigh

PRODUCERS AWARD presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey

The Producers Award, now in its 28^th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.

• Alex Coco
• Sarah Winshall
• Zoë Worth

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 31^st year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

• Nicholas Colia, director of Griffin in Summer
• Sarah Friedland, director of Familiar Touch
• Pham Thien An, director of Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 30^th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

• Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie, directors of Sugarcane
• Carla Gutiérrez, director of Frida
• Rachel Elizabeth Seed, director of A Photographic Memory

BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES>

(Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

• Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color
  Executive Producers: Idris Elba, Johanna Woolford Gibbon, Jamilla Dumbuya, Jos Cushing, Khaled Gad, Matt Robins, Chris Muckle, Sean David Johnson, Simon Raikes
  Co-Executive Producer: Annabel Hobley
• Hollywood Black
  Executive Producers: Shayla Harris, Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss, Jon Kamen, Justin Simien, Kyle Laursen, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jeffrey Schwarz, Amy Goodman Kass, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart
  Co-Executive Producers: David C. Brown, Laurens Grant
• Photographer
  Executive Producers: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Pagan Harleman, Betsy Forhan
  Co-Executive Producers: Anna Barnes, Brent Kunkle
• Ren Faire
  Executive Producers: Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Dani Bernfeld, Lance Oppenheim, David Gauvey Herbert, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
  Co-Executive Producers: Abigail Rowe, Christian Vasquez, Max Allman
• Social Studies
  Creator/Executive Producer: Lauren Greenfield
  Executive Producers: Wallis Annenberg, Regina K. Scully, Andrea van Beuren, Frank Evers, Caryn Capotosto

BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

(Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

• Baby Reindeer
  Creator/Executive Producer: Richard Gadd
  Executive Producers: Wim De Greef, Petra Fried, Matt Jarvis, Ed Macdonald
• Diarra From Detroit
  Creator/Executive Producer: Diarra Kilpatrick
  Executive Producers: Kenya Barris, Miles Orion Feldsott, Darren Goldberg
  Co-Executive Producers: Ester Lou, Mark Ganek
• English Teacher
  Creator/Executive Producer: Brian Jordan Alvarez
  Executive Producers: Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel, Dave King
  Co-Executive Producers: Kathryn Dean, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn
• Fantasmas
  Creator/Executive Producer: Julio Torres
  Executive Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Olivia Gerke, Alex Bach, Daniel Powell
  Co-Executive Producer: Ali Herting
• Shōgun
  Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
  Executive Producers: Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell
  Co-Executive Producers: Shannon Goss, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Jamie Vega Wheeler

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

• Brian Jordan Alvarez, English Teacher
• Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer
• Lily Gladstone, Under the Bridge
• Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along
• Cristin Milioti, The Penguin
• Julianne Moore, Mary & George
• Hiroyuki Sanada, Shōgun
• Anna Sawai, Shōgun
• Andrew Scott, Ripley
• Julio Torres, Fantasmas

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

• Tadanobu Asano, Shōgun
• Enrico Colantoni, English Teacher
• Betty Gilpin, Three Women
• Chloe Guidry, Under the Bridge
• Moeka Hoshi, Shōgun
• Stephanie Koenig, English Teacher
• Patti LuPone, Agatha All Along
• Nava Mau, Baby Reindeer
• Ruth Negga, Presumed Innocent
• Brian Tee, Expats

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

• Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer
• Diarra Kilpatrick, Diarra From Detroit
• Joe Locke, Agatha All Along
• Megan Stott, Penelope
• Hoa Xuande, The Sympathizer

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

• How to Die Alone
  Ensemble Cast: Melissa DuPrey, Jaylee Hamidi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Arkie Kandola, Elle Lorraine, Michelle McLeod, Chris “CP” Powell, Conrad Ricamora, Natasha Rothwell, Jocko Sims

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