The nominations for this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and there are some truly fantastic titles at the top of the tree. Leading with the most nods is Zola with seven, closely followed by The Novice with five nominations, and then the superb – arguably my film of the year – The Lost Daughter from filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal with four nods. A Chiara, and C’mon C’mon were also nominated in the top category for Best Feature.
I was also pleased to see Udo Keir nominated for his performance in the excellent Swan Song – a really unique, superb, possibly career-best for the screen legend and a total departure from what we’re used to seeing him do.
Beanie Feldstein, Regina Hall, and Naomi Watts read out the nominations on Tuesday. The awards themselves will be dished out on Sunday, March 6, 2022 at an in-person event in Santa Monica, California.
Here are the nominations in full:
Best Feature
“A Chiara”
“C’mon C’mon”
“The Lost Daughter”
“The Novice”
“Zola”
Best Director
Janicza Bravo, “Zola”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”
Lauren Hadaway, “The Novice”
Mike Mills, “C’mon C’mon”
Ninja Thyberg, “Pleasure”
Best Male Lead
Clifton Collins Jr., “Jockey”
Frankie Faison, “Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Michael Greyeyes, “Wild Indian”
Udo Kier, “Swan Song”
Simon Rex, “Red Rocket”
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 Supporting Female
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Amy Forsyth, “The Novice”
Ruth Negga, “Passing”
Revika 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
Nikole Beckwith, “Together Together”
Janicza Bravo, Jeremy O. Harris, “Zola”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”
Mike Mills, “C’mon C’mon”
Todd Stephens, “Swan Song”
Best First Screenplay
Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr., “Wild Indian ”
Matt Fifer; Story by Sheldon D. Brown, “Cicada”
Shatara Michelle Ford, “Test Pattern ”
Fran Kranz, “Mass”
Michael Sarnoski; Story by Vanessa Block, Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”
Best First Feature
“7 Days”
“Holler”
“Queen of Glory”
“Test Pattern”
“Wild Indian”
John Cassavettes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
“Cryptozoo”
“Jockey”
“Shiva Baby”
“Sweet Thing”
“This is Not a War Story”
Best Cinematography
“A Chiara”
“Blue Bayou”
“The Humans”
“Passing”
“Zola”
Best Documentary
“Ascension”
“Flee”
“In The Same Breath”
“Procession”
“Summer of Soul”
Best Editing
“A Chiara”
“The Nowhere Inn”
“The Novice”
“Zola”
“The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
“Mass”
Best International Film
“Compartment No. 6”
“Drive My Car”
“Parallel Mothers”
“Pebbles”
“Petite Maman”
“Prayers for the Stolen”
Producers Award (Honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.)
Brad Becker-Parton
Pin-Chun Liu
Lizzie Shapiro
Someone to Watch Award
Alex Camilleri, “Luzzu”
Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”
Gillian Wallace Horvat, “I Blame Society”
“The Truer Than Fiction Award” (Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.)
Angelo Madsen Minax, “North By Current”
Jessica Beshir, “Faya Dayi”
Debbie Lum, “Try Harder!”
TELEVISION CATEGORIES
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Black and Missing”
“The Choe Show”
“The Lady and The Dale”
“Nuclear Family”
“Philly D.A.”
Best New Scripted Series
“Blindspotting”
“It’s a Sin”
“Reservation Dogs”
“The Underground Railroad”
“We Are Lady Parts”
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”
