They’re Finally Here! The 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards Film Nominations Announced!

The end of the year is always a very exciting time for we cinephiles… anticipation and thrill are compounded this year, as the film industry roars back to life in a big way. After almost two years of nightmarish stop-and-start production delays and pandemic-induced theater closures, awards season is finally bustling at a frenzied pace again with an abundance of bold and exciting titles.

After months of curating projects of all stripes (features, docs, series – you name it), while hosting a seemingly endless stream of Film Independent Presents screenings, and watching countless worthy, compelling titles, we’re ready to unveil the nominees.

This morning, we announced the Film Independent Spirit Awards film nominees for the 38th annual awards ceremony, set to return in-person to the beach at Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, March 4, 2023. For the third year, the Spirit Awards will also be recognizing outstanding achievement in uniqueness of vision, innovation, and boldness in TV and streaming. As a reminder, television category nominees will be announced separately by Orange Is the New Black alum, Asia Kate Dillon, on Tuesday, December 13.

Quickly, before we get to the film nominees, let’s revisit how these Spirit Awards will be different from years past…

What’s New This Year

As we’ve previously shared, here are some changes to this year’s Spirit Awards:

• For the first time in Spirit Awards history, acting categories are gender neutral, with the former separate lead and supporting actor and actress categories being replaced by the ten-nominee Best Lead and Best Supporting Performance awards
• A new award category – Best Breakthrough Performance – will honor performers making themselves known to wider audiences through noteworthy character portrayals
• The budget cap for eligible films has increased to $30 million
• The cap for the John Cassavetes Award has increased (from $500,000) to $1,000,000

And Now… The Film Nominees

The film nominees for the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards were revealed this morning on our YouTube channel, with special guest presenters Raúl Castillo (2019 Spirit Awards nominee for We Are Animals) and Taylour Paige (2022 Spirit Awards winner for Zola).
 

 
 
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)

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 (Award given to director and producer)

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 (Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000; Award given to the writer, director, and producer)

The African Desperate
Writer/Director/Producer: Martine Syms
Writer/Producer: Rocket Caleshu
Producer: Vic Brooks

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

A Love Song
Writer/Director/Producer: Max Walker-Silverman
Producers: Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey

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
 
 
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 (New Award)

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 (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast)

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 (Award given to the director and producer)

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 (Award given to the director)

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
Cambodia
Director: Davy Chou

Saint Omer
France
Director: Alice Diop
 
 
PRODUCERS AWARD presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey – The Producers Award, now in its 26th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.

Liz Cardenas

Tory Lenosky

David Grove Churchill Viste
 
 
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 29th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

Adamma Ebo
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Nikyatu Jusu
Nanny

Araceli Lemos
Holy Emy
 
 
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 28th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

Isabel Castro
Mija

Reid Davenport
I Didn’t See You There

Rebeca Huntt
Beba
 
 
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are supported by the Official Spirit, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, and the Official Water, FIJI Water. Getty Images is the Official Photographer.

Want to vote for the Spirit Awards?

As always, the Spirit Awards winners are voted on exclusively by Film Independent Members. Members must be current as of December 20, 2022 to receive full voting benefits, including access to nominee screeners. To join Film Independent and vote on the Spirit Awards, please visit filmindependent.org/join to Join. Watch. Vote.

The Spirit Awards is the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity and inclusion within the filmed entertainment industry. To learn more about attending and supporting Film Independent’s mission and programs, please click here. To support our work with a donation, please click here.
 

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[Header: Special guest presenters Raúl Castillo and Taylour Paige.]