Nominations for the 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced today via a pre-recorded at-home presentation, led by Film Independent president, John Welsh. Actors Naomi Watts, Regina Hall, and Beanie Feldstein participated, as well, announcing the nominees.
Last year, the Spirit Awards broke its tradition of airing the Saturday prior to the Oscars, and according to Welsh, will do so again. This year, however, the ceremony will be held in-person and will broadcast live on IFC from Santa Monica, California, on Sunday, March 6, 2022.
RELATED: Nomadland Tops 2021 Independent Spirit Awards, Full List of Winners
Within the announcement video, Welsh reminded that for a film, or series, to be eligible for a Spirit Award its budget could not exceed $22.5 million. In order to provide this year’s nomination slate, a 50-person selection committee whittled down a record-breaking 650 candidates that met this criterion.
From here, Film Independent members vote to determine the winners, which could include you.
“The winners of the Spirit Awards are chosen by Film Independent members,” said Walsh. “Film Independent is an open-access organization that welcomes filmmakers and film-lovers alike. No matter who you are or where you live, if you care about great storytelling we want you as a member. In order to vote this year, please join by December the 21. You’ll get screeners of nominated films and shows, but most importantly, you’ll become part of the community that votes to determine the winners of the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards.”
Welsh further states in the video that 44% of writers and directors nominated for 2022 awards identify as women and 38% were BIPOC. These nominations come from a selection committee that identifies 64% as women, 56% as BIPOC, and 5% as non-binary.
Information regarding Film Independent membership can be found on its website, and this year’s nomination slate, as well as the nomination video, are listed below.
2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees
FILM AWARDS
Best Feature
A Chiara, directed by Jonas Carpignano
C’mon C’mon, directed by Mike Mills
The Lost Daughter, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Novice, directed by Lauren Hadaway
Zola, directed by Janicza Bravo
Best First Feature
7 Days, directed by Roshan Sethi
Holler, directed by Nicole Riegel
Queen Glory, directed by Nana Mensah
Test Pattern, directed by Shatara Michelle Ford
Wild Indian, directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.
Best Female Lead
Isabelle Fuhrman, The Novice
Brittany S. Hall, Test Pattern
Patti Harrison, Together Together
Taylour Paige, Zola
Kali Reis, Catch the Fair One
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
Best Director
Janicza Bravo, Zola
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
Lauren Hadaway, The Novice
Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon
Ninja Thyberg, Pleasure
Best Documentary
Ascension, directed by Jessica Kingdon
Flee, directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
In the Same Breath, directed by Nanfu Wang
Procession, directed by Keegan DeWitt
Summer of Soul, directed by Questlove
Best Supporting Female
Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
Amy Forsyth, The Novice
Ruth Negga, Passing
Revika Anne Reustle, Pleasure
Suzanna Son, Red Rocket
Best Supporting Male
Colman Domingo, Zola
Meeko Gattuso, Queen of Glory
Troy Kotsur, CODA
Will Patton, Sweet Thing
Chaske Spencer, Wild Indian
Best Screenplay
C’mon C’mon, written by Mike Mills
The Lost Daughter, written by Maggie Gyllenhaal
Swan Song, written by Todd Stephens
Together Together, written by Nikole Beckwith
Zola, written by Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris
Best First Screenplay
Wild Indian, written by Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
Cicada, written by Matt Fifer; story by Sheldon D. Brown
Test Pattern, written by Shatara Michelle Ford
Mass, written by Fran Kranz
Pig, written by Michael Sarnoski; story by Vanessa Block
Best Editing
Affonso Gonçalves, A Chiara
Ali Greer, The Nowhere Inn
Lauren Hadaway and Nathan Nugent, The Novice
Joi McMillon, Zola
Enrico Natale, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
Best Cinematography
Ante Cheng and Matthew Chuang, Blue Bayou
Lol Crawley, The Humans
Tim Curtin, A Chiara
Edu Grau, Passing
Ari Wegner, Zola
Best International Film
Compartment No. 6, directed by Juho Kuosmanen, Finland/Russia
Drive My Car, directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan
Parallel Mothers, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
Pebbles, directed by P.S. Vinothraj, India
Petite Maman, directed by Céline Sciamma, France
Prayers for the Stolen, directed by Tatiana Huezo, Mexico
TV AWARDS
Best New Non-Scripted of Documentary Series
Black and Missing, created by Soledad O’Brien and Geeta Gandbhir
The Choe Show, created by David Choe
The Lady and The Dale, created by Mark and Jay Duplass
Nuclear Family, created by Ry Russo-Young
Philly D.A., created by Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, and Nicole Salazar
Best New Scripted Series
Blindspotting, created by Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs
It’s a Sin, created by Russell T Davies
Reservation Dogs, created by Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi
The Underground Railroad, created by Barry Jenkins
We Are Lady Parts, created by Nida Manzoor
Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series
Thuso Mbedu, The Underground Railroad
Anjana Vasan, We Are Lady Parts
Jana Schmieding, Rutherford Falls
Jasmine Cephas Jones, Blindspotting
Deborah Ayorinde, THEM: Covenant
Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series
Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
Olly Alexander, It’s a Sin
Michael Greyeyes, Rutherford Falls
Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus
Ashley Thomas, THEM: Covenant
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Reservation Dogs, an ensemble cast of Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paulina Alexis, Sarah Podemski, Zahn McClarnon, Lil Mike, FunnyBone
EMERGING FILMMAKER AWARDS
Each recipient of an Emerging Filmmaker Award is gifted an unrestricted $25,000 grant to further their voice as a creator.
Truer Than Fiction Award
Angelo Madsen Minax, director of North By Current
Jessica Beshir, director of Faya Dayi
Debbie Lum, director of Try Harder!
Someone to Watch Award
Alex Camilleri, director of Luzzu
Michael Sarnoski, director of Pig
Gillian Wallace Horvat, director of I Blame Society
Producers Award
Brad Becker-Parton, Pin-Chun Liu, and Lizzie Shapiro
NAMED AWARDS
Robert Altman Award
Mass, directed by Fran Kranz
John Cassavetes Award
Cryptozoo, written and directed by Dash Shaw
Jockey, written and directed by Clint Bentley
Shiva Baby, written and directed by Emma Seligman
Sweet Thing, written and directed by Alexandre Rockwell
This is Not a War Story, written and directed by Talia Lugacy
