Film Independent has announced the nominations for its 38th Independent Spirit Awards for film. Chloé Zhao (“The Rider,” “Nomadland,” “Eternals”) and Siân Heder (“Tallulah,” “CODA”) will be honorary co-chairs at the event, which will be held Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Santa Monica beach.
A nonprofit arts organization that seeks to “champion creative independence in visual storytelling,” Film Independent holds the Spirit Awards to recognize outstanding independent films and TV series and the artists who helped bring them to life. The Awards looks for the unconventional, the unique, and the provocative in determining what qualifies as an independent production. Money raised by the ceremony is used to fund Film Independent’s ongoing programs and fellowships.
This year’s event represents a focus on diversity and inclusion, for the first time combining previous actor- and actress-specific categories into gender neutral performance award categories. Also new this year, the Best Breakthrough Performance category honors early-career actors whose performances garnered wider critical audience recognition.
How to Make an Indie Film Previous film winners demonstrate a rich legacy of iconic productions, including “Memento,” “Amelie,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Juno,” “The Artist,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Moonlight,” “Parasite,” and “Nomadland.”
Award winners are chosen by Film Independent members. Nominations for TV categories will be announced on Tuesday, December 13; for now, here’s the list of nominations for film awards.
“Bones and All” Credit: Yannis Drakoulidis / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
Best Feature
“Bones and All”
Producers: Timothée Chalamet, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Luca Guadagnino, David Kajganich, Lorenzo Mieli, Marco Morabito, Gabriele Moratti, Theresa Park, Peter Spears
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Producers: Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang
“Our Father, the Devil”
Producers: Ellie Foumbi, Joseph Mastantuono
“Tár”
Producers: Todd Field, Scott Lambert, Alexandra Milchan
“Women Talking”
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Frances McDormand
Best First Feature
“Aftersun”
Director: Charlotte Wells
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski
“Emily the Criminal”
Director: John Patton Ford
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Aubrey Plaza, Drew Sykes
“The Inspection”
Director: Elegance Bratton
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Chester Algernal Gordon
“Murina”
Director: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
Producers: Danijel Pek, Rodrigo Teixeira
“Palm Trees and Power Lines”
Director/Producer: Jamie Dack
Producer: Leah Chen Baker
John Cassavetes Award
“The African Desperate”
Writer/Director/Producer: Martine Syms
Writer/Producer: Rocket Caleshu
Producer: Vic Brooks
“A Love Song”
Writer/Director/Producer: Max Walker-Silverman
Producers: Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey
“The Cathedral”
Writer/Director: Ricky D’Ambrose
Producer: Graham Swon
“Holy Emy”
Writer/Director: Araceli Lemos
Writer/Producer: Giulia Caruso
Producers: Mathieu Bompoint, Ki Jin Kim, Konstantinos Vassilaros
“Something in the Dirt”
Writer/Director/Producer: Justin Benson
Director/Producer: Aaron Moorhead
Producer: David Lawson Jr.
Best Director
Todd Field, “Tár”
Kogonada, “After Yang”
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Sarah Polley, “Women Talking”
Halina Reijn, “Bodies Bodies Bodies”  
Best Screenplay
Lena Dunham, “Catherine Called Birdy”
Todd Field, “Tár”
Kogonada, “After Yang”
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Sarah Polley, “Women Talking”
Best First Screenplay
Joel Kim Booster, “Fire Island”
Jamie Dack, Audrey Findlay, Story by Jamie Dack, “Palm Trees and Power Lines”
K.D. Dávila, “Emergency”
Sarah DeLappe, Story by Kristen Roupenian, “Bodies Bodies Bodies”
John Patton Ford, “Emily the Criminal”
Best Lead Performance
Cate Blanchett, “Tár”
Dale Dickey, “A Love Song”
Mia Goth, “Pearl”
Regina Hall, “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.”
Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”
Aubrey Plaza, “Emily the Criminal”
Jeremy Pope, “The Inspection”
Andrea Riseborough, “To Leslie”
Taylor Russell, “Bones and All”
Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“Pearl” Credit: Christopher Moss
Best Supporting Performance
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Brian Tyree Henry, “Causeway”
Nina Hoss, “Tár”
Brian d’Arcy James, “The Cathedral”
Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Trevante Rhodes, “Bruiser”
Theo Rossi, “Emily the Criminal”
Mark Rylance, “Bones and All”
Jonathan Tucker, “Palm Trees and Power Lines”
Gabrielle Union, “The Inspection”
Best Breakthrough Performance
Frankie Corio, “Aftersun”
Gracija Filipović, “Murina”
Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Lily McInerny, “Palm Trees and Power Lines”
Daniel Zolghadri, “Funny Pages”
Best Cinematography
Florian Hoffmeister, “Tár”
Hélène Louvart, “Murina”
Gregory Oke, “Aftersun”
Eliot Rockett, “Pearl”
Anisia Uzeyman, “Neptune Frost”  
Best Editing
Ricky D’Ambrose, “The Cathedral”
Dean Fleischer Camp, Nick Paley, “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”
Blair McClendon, “Aftersun”
Paul Rogers, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Monika Willi, “Tár”
Robert Altman Award
“Women Talking”
Director: Sarah Polley
Casting Directors: John Buchan, Jason Knight
Ensemble Cast: Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, Ben Whishaw, August Winter
Best Documentary  
“All That Breathes”
Director/Producer: Shaunak Sen
Producers: Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons
“A House Made of Splinters”
Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont
Producers: Monica Hellström
“Midwives”
Director/Producer: Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
Producers: Mila Aung-Thwin, Ulla Lehmann, Bob Moore
“Riotsville, U.S.A.”
Director: Sierra Pettengill
Producers: Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot
Best International Film
“Corsage”
Austria/Luxembourg/France/Belgium/Italy/England
Director: Marie Kreutzer
“Joyland”
Pakistan/USA
Director: Saim Sadiq
“Leonor Will Never Die”
Philippines
Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar
“Return to Seoul”
South Korea/France/Belgium/Romania
Director: Davy Chou
“Saint Omer”
France
Director: Alice Diop
Producers Award
Liz Cardenas
Tory Lenosky
David Grove Churchill Viste
Someone to Watch Award  
Adamma Ebo, “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.”
Nikyatu Jusu, “Nanny”
Araceli Lemos, “Holy Emy”
Truer Than Fiction Award
Isabel Castro, “Mija”
Reid Davenport, “I Didn’t See You There”
Rebeca Huntt, “Beba”