The Gotham Awards and the East Coast cinephile establishment have had their say. Now, it’s time for the West Coast and the premiere independent film event, the Film Independent Spirit Awards to unveil their annual nominations. This year’s class was led by “Anora” and “I Saw The TV Glow” which earned six nominations each. On the television side, “Shōgun“ led all programs with five nominations while “Baby Reindeer” and “English Teacher” landed four noms, respectively.
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The Best Feature nominees include “Anora,” “I Saw The TV Glow,” “The Substance,” “Sing Sing,” and “Nickel Boys.” The Best First Feature nominees are “Didi,” “In The Summers,” “Janet Planet,” “The Piano Lesson,” and “Problemista.”
Best New Scripted Series nominees include “Baby Reindeer,” “Diarra From Detroit,” “English Teacher,” “Fantasmas,” and “Shōgun.”
The Robert Altman Award which is bestowed to a director, casting director, and ensemble goes to Azazel Jacobs’s “His Three Daughters.” Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series goes to “How To Die Alone.”
“The Apprentice,” which got shut out of the Gotham Awards nominations, earned three including one for outspoken director Ali Abbasi. Considering the results of the recent election this is somewhat surprising. Focus Features’ “Didi” was a pleasant surprise taking four nominations including a Best Supporting Performance for Joan Chen. Unexpected nominations on the motion picture side included “Nightbitch’s” Amy Adams and “Cuckoo’s” Hunter Schafer in the Best Lead Performance category and, quizzically considering the long list of submissions, “Heretic’s” Scott Beck and Bryan Woods in Best Screenplay.
The celebrated Brady Corbet epic “The Brutalist,” which was made for less than $10 million, strangely earned just one nomination, Best Director.
Fun television nominees include Patti LuPone and Joe Locke for “Agatha All Along,” Cristin Milioti for “The Penguin,”
On the film side, Film Independent states that the 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. Among the nominated writers, directors, producers, and technical artists, 43% are women and 24% are BIPOC. The nominated performers are 54% women and 48% BIPOC.”
Based on their publicly known production costs, many of the television nominees did not make the budgetary threshold applied to film. This is nothing new as big-budgeted fare such as “Pachinko,” “Station Eleven,” “The Underground Railroad,” and “The Last of Us” have been recognized in the past.
A24 topped all film distributors with 19 nominations. NEON and Amazon MGM Studios landed seven each. FX/Hulu earned 10 on the television side and 13 overall if Disney+ is included. HBO Max took 5 noms while Netflix earned nine overall in both film and television.
Aidy Bryant will return to host this year’s ceremony which will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the indie film institution. This year’s event will be held Saturday, February 22 once again under the tent on Santa Monica Beach.
This year’s nominees are as follows:
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 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)
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
Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
Shōgun
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 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