With six nominations apiece, “Anora” and “I Saw the TV Glow” led all nominees in the film categories for the 40th Anniversary Film Independent Awards, which were announced on Wednesday morning. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025. As previously announced, Aidy Bryant will return as host.
Directed by Sean Baker, “Anora” has been on a winning streak since it premiered in Cannes in May, where it won the Palme d’Or. Jane Schoenbrun’s less well known horror movie “I Saw the TV Glow” gave it some stiff competition, tying it for the most nominations among film entries. “Didi” got four nods, while “Sing Sing” and “Janet Planet” tied with three nominations each.
Because the Indie Spirit Awards use different nominating committees for different categories, it’s usual for the choices to be inconsistent. That was certainly the case this year, with “Anora” and “I Saw the TV Glow” becoming the only films to be nominated in both the Best Feature and Best Director categories. (They both added acting nominations as well.)
“Nickel Boys,” “Sing Sing” and “The Substance,” by contrast, were nominated for Best Feature but their directors were bypassed in favor of Ali Abbasi (“The Apprentice”), Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (“La Cocina”), all of which weren’t nominated in the feature category.
“The Brutalist” was probably the biggest “snub” of the nominations, with Corbet the film’s only nominee one day after the drama won the New York Film Critics Circle award as the year’s best film. While the film’s distributor, A24, dominated with 19 total nominations for eight different films, five of those films received more noms than “The Brutalist”: “I Saw the TV Glow” got six, “Janet Planet” and “Sing Sing” three and “A Different Man” and “Problemista” two.
Meanwhile, “Emilia Perez” was eligible only in the Best International Feature category, but it wasn’t nominated – and neither was Pablo Larrain’s “Maria,” another high-profile Netflix film that was eligible only in that category.
Other films that didn’t do as well as might have been expected include “Nickel Boys,” which won Gotham and NYFCC directing awards but was nominated for Best Feature but only one other award, for cinematography; “The Substance,” nominated for feature and for lead actress Demi Moore; and “The Piano Lesson,” which received noms for Best First Feature and actress Danielle Deadwyler.
“I Saw the TV Glow,” “Didi” and “Janet Planet,” on the other hand, held their own against higher-profile competition.
In the TV categories, two Emmy champs led the way: “Shōgun” (five nominations) and “Baby Reindeer” (four).
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are open to films that were made for less than $30 million and were either programmed at one of eight specific film festivals or exhibited theatrically for at least one week during 2024. Except in the Best International Film and Best Documentary categories, films must also qualify as “American productions” by having U.S. citizens or permanent residents in two of the three positions of director, producer or writer. Films that do not qualify as American, such as “Emilia Pérez” this year, are eligible in the international category for narrative films or the documentary category for nonfiction films.
The films must also be considered “independent” in the judgment of the Film Independent nominating committees, which makes that determination on the basis of “uniqueness of vision,” “original, provocative subject matter,” “diversity (on camera and behind the camera)” and “economy of means.”
In the television categories, programs are eligible only in their first season.
Over the past 10 years, the Spirit Award nominations have typically included one, two or three films that go on to receive Oscar nominations for Best Picture, with a high of four matches in 2014 and a low of no matches in 2018 and 2021. During the same period, an average of slightly fewer than five Spirit acting nominees per year have also been recognized with Oscar noms.
Here is the full list of nominees for the 40th Anniversary Film Independent Awards.
2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
Anora
Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan
I Saw the TV Glow
Producers: Ali Herting, Sam 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 director and producer)
Dìdi
Director/Producer: Sean Wang
Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh PetersIn 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)
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, Bryan 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
Carol Kane, Between the Temples
Karren Karagulian, Anora
Kani Kusruti, Girls Will Be Girls
Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow
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: Agnieszka Holland
Hard Truths
United Kingdom
Director: Mike Leigh
PRODUCERS AWARD presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey – The Producers Award, now in its 28th 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 31st 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 30th 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
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 BREAKTRHOUGH 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
