Film Independent announced on Tuesday that its annual Spirit Awards will continue its tradition of taking place the night before the Academy Awards, joining the Oscars in a move to April for its 2021 edition in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 Spirit Awards will be held on April 24 and will extend eligibility to films that are released in January and February of next year. This comes after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the 2021 Oscars will be moved from February 28 to April 25, with films released in the first two months of 2021 allowed eligibility along with any film that was moved from theatrical to streaming release because of the pandemic.
Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” won Best Picture at the Spirit Awards this past February, along with a Best Supporting Actress win for star Zhao Shuzhen. Benny and Josh Safdie won Best Director for their film “Uncut Gems” while their lead star, Adam Sandler, won Best Actor. Willem Dafoe won Best Supporting Actor for Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” while Renee Zellweger won Best Actress for her performance as Judy Garland in the Rupert Goold biopic “Judy” prior to her Oscar win for the same role the following night.
