The 37th Annual Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday, returning to an in-person format following last year’s virtual ceremony. Many of the biggest names in the independent film community made the trek out to the beach in Santa Monica with the hopes of taking home the most coveted prizes in indie film. While the Spirit Awards typically take place the week before the Oscars, this year’s unique COVID-influenced awards season calendar meant that they were held nearly a month in advance. Hollywood couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally served as emcees of the proceedings.
This year’s class of nominees draws from films largely shut out from the Oscars, with indie hits like Oscar nominee “The Lost Daughter,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Zola” racking up the most nominations. “The Lost Daughter” cleaned up, with three wins for Netflix including Best Feature and Best Director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Oscar no-show Simon Rex took the Best Male Lead prize for A24’s “Red Rocket,” while Taylour Paige won Best Female Lead for the studio’s summer 2021 hit “Zola.” On the television side, “Reservation Dogs” took home big wins, as did “The Underground Railroad” and “Squid Game.”
See the full list of winners below.
Best Feature
“A Chiara”
“C’mon C’mon”
“The Lost Daughter” (Winner)
“The Novice”
“Zola”
Best Male Lead
Clifton Collins, Jr., “Jockey”
Frankie Faison, “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Michael Greyeyes, “Wild Indian”
Udo Kier, “Swan Song”
Simon Rex, “Red Rocket” (Winner)
Best International Film
“Compartment No. 6”
“Drive My Car” (Winner)
“Parallel Mothers”
“Pebbles”
“Petite Maman”
“Prayers for the Stolen”
Best Female Lead
Isabelle Fuhrman, “The Novice”
Brittany S. Hall, “Test Pattern”
Patti Harrison, “Together Together”
Taylour Paige, “Zola” (Winner)
Kali Reis, “Catch the Fair One”
Best Director
Janicza Bravo, “Zola”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter” (Winner)
Lauren Hadaway, “The Novice”
Mike Mills, “C’mon, C’mon”
Ninja Thyberg, “Pleasure”
Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series
Thuso Mbedu, “The Underground Railroad” (Winner)
Anjana Vasan, “We Are Lady Parts”
Jana Schmieding, “Rutherford Falls”
Jasmine Cephas Jones, “Blindspotting”
Deborah Ayorinde, “THEM: Covenant”
Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series
Ollie Alexander, “It’s a Sin”
Murray Bartlett, “The White Lotus”
Michael Greyeyes, “Rutherford Falls”
Ashley Thomas, “THEM: Covenant”
Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game” (Winner)
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Black and Missing” (Winner)
“The Choe Show”
“The Lady and the Dale”
“Nuclear Family”
“Philly D.A.”
Best New Scripted Series
“Blindspotting”
“It’s a Sin”
“Reservation Dogs” (Winner)
“The Underground Railroad”
“We Are Lady Parts”
Best Supporting Female
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Amy Forsyth, “The Novice”
Ruth Negga, “Passing” (Winner)
Revika Anne Reustle, “Pleasure”
Suzanna Son, “Red Rocket”
Best Screenplay
“C’mon, C’mon”
“The Lost Daughter” (Winner)
“Swan Song”
“Together Together”
“Zola”
Best First Feature
“7 Days” (Winner)
“Holler”
“Queen of Glory”
“Test Pattern”
“Wild Indian”
Best First Screenplay
“Cicada”
“Mass”
“Pig” (Winner)
“Test Pattern”
“Wild Indian”
Best Documentary
“Ascension”
“Flee”
“In the Same Breath”
“Procession”
“Summer of Soul” (Winner)
John Cassavetes Award
“Cryptozoo”
“Jockey”
“Shiva Baby” (Winner)
“Sweet Thing”
“This Is Not a War Story”
Best Supporting Male
Colman Domingo, “Zola”
Meeko Gattuso, “Queen of Glory”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA” (Winner)
Will Patton, “Sweet Thing”
Chaske Spencer, “Wild Indian”
Best Cinematography
“A Chiara”
“Blue Bayou”
“The Humans”
“Passing” (Winner)
“Zola”
Best Editing
“A Chiara”
“The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
“The Novice”
“The Nowhere Inn”
“Zola” (Winner)
Robert Altman Award
The Director, Cast, and Casting Director of “Mass” (Winner)
Someone to Watch Award
Alex Camilleri, “Luzzu” (Winner)
Gillian Wallace Horvat, “I Blame Society”
Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”
Truer Than Fiction Award
“North by Current”
“Faya Dayi” (Winner)
“Try Harder!”
Producers Award
Brad Becker-Parton
Pin-Chun Liu
Lizzie Shapiro (Winner)
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“Reservation Dogs” (Winner)
This year’s class of nominees draws from films largely shut out from the Oscars, with indie hits like Oscar nominee “The Lost Daughter,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Zola” racking up the most nominations. “The Lost Daughter” cleaned up, with three wins for Netflix including Best Feature and Best Director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Oscar no-show Simon Rex took the Best Male Lead prize for A24’s “Red Rocket,” while Taylour Paige won Best Female Lead for the studio’s summer 2021 hit “Zola.” On the television side, “Reservation Dogs” took home big wins, as did “The Underground Railroad” and “Squid Game.”
See the full list of winners below.
Best Feature
“A Chiara”
“C’mon C’mon”
“The Lost Daughter” (Winner)
“The Novice”
“Zola”
Best Male Lead
Clifton Collins, Jr., “Jockey”
Frankie Faison, “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Michael Greyeyes, “Wild Indian”
Udo Kier, “Swan Song”
Simon Rex, “Red Rocket” (Winner)
Best International Film
“Compartment No. 6”
“Drive My Car” (Winner)
“Parallel Mothers”
“Pebbles”
“Petite Maman”
“Prayers for the Stolen”
Best Female Lead
Isabelle Fuhrman, “The Novice”
Brittany S. Hall, “Test Pattern”
Patti Harrison, “Together Together”
Taylour Paige, “Zola” (Winner)
Kali Reis, “Catch the Fair One”
Best Director
Janicza Bravo, “Zola”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter” (Winner)
Lauren Hadaway, “The Novice”
Mike Mills, “C’mon, C’mon”
Ninja Thyberg, “Pleasure”
Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series
Thuso Mbedu, “The Underground Railroad” (Winner)
Anjana Vasan, “We Are Lady Parts”
Jana Schmieding, “Rutherford Falls”
Jasmine Cephas Jones, “Blindspotting”
Deborah Ayorinde, “THEM: Covenant”
Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series
Ollie Alexander, “It’s a Sin”
Murray Bartlett, “The White Lotus”
Michael Greyeyes, “Rutherford Falls”
Ashley Thomas, “THEM: Covenant”
Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game” (Winner)
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Black and Missing” (Winner)
“The Choe Show”
“The Lady and the Dale”
“Nuclear Family”
“Philly D.A.”
Best New Scripted Series
“Blindspotting”
“It’s a Sin”
“Reservation Dogs” (Winner)
“The Underground Railroad”
“We Are Lady Parts”
Best Supporting Female
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Amy Forsyth, “The Novice”
Ruth Negga, “Passing” (Winner)
Revika Anne Reustle, “Pleasure”
Suzanna Son, “Red Rocket”
Best Screenplay
“C’mon, C’mon”
“The Lost Daughter” (Winner)
“Swan Song”
“Together Together”
“Zola”
Best First Feature
“7 Days” (Winner)
“Holler”
“Queen of Glory”
“Test Pattern”
“Wild Indian”
Best First Screenplay
“Cicada”
“Mass”
“Pig” (Winner)
“Test Pattern”
“Wild Indian”
Best Documentary
“Ascension”
“Flee”
“In the Same Breath”
“Procession”
“Summer of Soul” (Winner)
John Cassavetes Award
“Cryptozoo”
“Jockey”
“Shiva Baby” (Winner)
“Sweet Thing”
“This Is Not a War Story”
Best Supporting Male
Colman Domingo, “Zola”
Meeko Gattuso, “Queen of Glory”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA” (Winner)
Will Patton, “Sweet Thing”
Chaske Spencer, “Wild Indian”
Best Cinematography
“A Chiara”
“Blue Bayou”
“The Humans”
“Passing” (Winner)
“Zola”
Best Editing
“A Chiara”
“The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
“The Novice”
“The Nowhere Inn”
“Zola” (Winner)
Robert Altman Award
The Director, Cast, and Casting Director of “Mass” (Winner)
Someone to Watch Award
Alex Camilleri, “Luzzu” (Winner)
Gillian Wallace Horvat, “I Blame Society”
Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”
Truer Than Fiction Award
“North by Current”
“Faya Dayi” (Winner)
“Try Harder!”
Producers Award
Brad Becker-Parton
Pin-Chun Liu
Lizzie Shapiro (Winner)
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“Reservation Dogs” (Winner)