Nominations for the 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards are in! On Dec. 3, Film Independent announced its choices for the most outstanding unconventional, unique, and provocative independent films and TV series of 2025.
Ira Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day,” a biographical drama depicting the friendship between photographer Hujar and writer Linda Rosenkrantz, leads the film categories with five nominations. Constance Tsang’s grief-filled drama “Blue Sun Palace,” Alex Russell’s paranoia-riddled psychological thriller “Lurker,” Lawrence Lamont’s buddy comedy “One of Them Days,” Eva Victor’s emotional dramedy “Sorry, Baby,” and Clint Bentley’s historical drama “Train Dreams” follow closely with four nominations each.
Tied for the most nominations with four each for TV are Netflix’s crime drama “Adolescence,” a tense examination of youthful toxic masculinity, and BBC’s drama “Mr Loverman,” an exploration of love, sexuality, and identity.
Spirit Awards winners often go on to be recognized with the industry’s biggest accolades: Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave,” Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and Sean Baker’s “Anora” all went from being honored at the Spirit Awards to nabbing Oscars.
As the awards ceremony celebrates its milestone 41st year, it remains a vital way to showcase bold and original independent storytelling. Here’s the full list of nominations for the 2026 ceremony, which takes place Sunday, Feb. 15.
Film awards
Best Feature
“Peter Hujar’s Day”
“The Plague”
“Sorry, Baby”
“Train Dreams”
“Twinless”
Best First Feature
“Blue Sun Palace”
“Dust Bunny”
“East of Wall”
“Lurker”
“One of Them Days”
John Cassavetes Award
“The Baltimorons”
“Boys Go to Jupiter”
“Eephus”
“Esta Isla (This Island)”
“Familiar Touch”
Best Director
Clint Bentley, “Train Dreams”
Mary Bronstein, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Lloyd Lee Choi, “Lucky Lu”
Ira Sachs, “Peter Hujar’s Day”
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby”
Best Screenplay
Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, “Splitsville”
Angus MacLachlan, “A Little Prayer”
James Sweeney, “Twinless”
Christian Swegal, “Sovereign”
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby”
Best First Screenplay
Andrew DeYoung, “Friendship”
Elena Oxman, “Outerlands”
Alex Russell, “Lurker”
Syreeta Singleton, “One of Them Days”
Constance Tsang, “Blue Sun Palace”
Best Lead Performance
Everett Blunck, “The Plague”
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Kathleen Chalfant, “Familiar Touch”
Chang Chen, “Lucky Lu”
Joel Edgerton, “Train Dreams”
Dylan O’Brien, “Twinless”
Keke Palmer, “One of Them Days”
Théodore Pellerin, “Lurker”
Tessa Thompson, “Hedda”
Ben Whishaw, “Peter Hujar’s Day”
Best Supporting Performance
Naomi Ackie, “Sorry, Baby”
Zoey Deutch, “Nouvelle Vague”
Kirsten Dunst, “Roofman”
Rebecca Hall, “Peter Hujar’s Day”
Nina Hoss, “Hedda”
Jane Levy, “A Little Prayer”
Archie Madekwe, “Lurker”
Kali Reis, “Rebuilding”
Jacob Tremblay, “Sovereign”
Haipeng Xu, “Blue Sun Palace”
Best Breakthrough Performance
Liz Larsen, “The Baltimorons”
Kayo Martin, “The Plague”
Misha Osherovich, “She’s the He”
SZA, “One of Them Days”
Tabatha Zimiga, “East of Wall”
Best Cinematography
Alex Ashe, “Peter Hujar’s Day”
Norm Li, “Blue Sun Palace”
David J. Thompson, “Warfare”
Adolpho Veloso, “Train Dreams”
Nicole Hirsch Whitaker, “Dust Bunny”
Best Editing
Ben Leonberg, “Good Boy”
Carson Lund, “Eephus”
Fin Oates, “Warfare”
Sara Shaw, “Splitsville”
Sofía Subercaseaux, “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Robert Altman Award
“The Long Walk”
Director: Francis Lawrence
Casting director: Rich Delia
Ensemble cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing
Best Documentary
“Come See Me in the Good Light”
“Endless Cookie”
“My Undesirable Friends: Part I—Last Air in Moscow”
“The Perfect Neighbor”
“The Tale of Silyan”
Best International Film
“All That’s Left of You” (Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus)
“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (Zambia, U.K., Ireland)
“A Poet” (Colombia)
“The Secret Agent” (Brazil)
“Sirat” (Spain)
Producers Award – Emerging Filmmaker Awards
Emma Hannaway
Luca Intili
Tony Yang
Someone to Watch Award – Emerging Filmmaker Awards
Tatti Ribeiro, director of “Valentina”
Neo Sora, director of “Happyend”
Annapurna Sriram, director of “Fucktoys”
Truer Than Fiction Award – Emerging Filmmaker Awards
Tony Benna, director of “André Is an Idiot”
Rajee Samarasinghe, director of “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible”
Brittany Shyne, director of “Seeds”
TV awards
Best New Scripted Series
“Adolescence”
“Common Side Effects”
“Forever”
“Mr Loverman”
“North of North”
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Citizen Nation”
“Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time”
“Pee-wee as Himself”
“Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television”
“Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae”
Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Sydney Chandler, “Alien: Earth”
Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”
Ethan Hawke, “The Lowdown”
Lennie James, “Mr Loverman”
Anna Lambe, “North of North”
Lola Petticrew, “Say Nothing”
Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
Lovie Simone, “Forever”
Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex”
Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Ariyon Bakare, “Mr Loverman”
Babou Ceesay, “Alien: Earth”
Sharon D. Clarke, “Mr Loverman”
Taylor Dearden, “The Pitt”
Erin Doherty, “Adolescence”
Stephen McKinley Henderson, “A Man on the Inside”
Poorna Jagannathan, “Deli Boys”
Xosha Roquemore, “Forever”
Jenny Slate, “Dying for Sex”
Ben Whishaw, “Black Doves”
Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Asif Ali, “Deli Boys”
Wally Baram, “Overcompensating”
Owen Cooper, “Adolescence”
Michael Cooper Jr., “Forever”
Ernest Kingsley Junior, “Washington Black”
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“Chief of War”
Ensemble cast: Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale’o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, James Udom