‘Independent Spirit Awards’ 2020 – Nominations Announced

The Farewell nominated for Film Independent Awards

The nominations for the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced this week. The Spirit Awards are part of Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity and inclusion in the industry. Nominees for Best Feature included A Hidden Life, Clemency, The Farewell, Marriage Story and Uncut Gems.  This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Santa Monica beach-adjacent award show.

“Marriage Story” was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts.

Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 8, 2020. The awards ceremony will be held on the beach in Santa Monica, just north of the Santa Monica Pier. The show will be broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 2:00 pm PT/ 5:00 pm ET.

 2020 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS



BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

A Hidden Life

Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter

Clemency

Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong

The Farewell

Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng

Marriage Story

Producers: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman

Uncut Gems

Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Scott Rudin



BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)

Booksmart

Director: Olivia Wilde

Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman

The Climb

Director/Producer: Michael Angelo Covino

Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin

Diane

Director: Kent Jones

Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman

The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Director/Producer: Joe Talbot

Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh

The Mustang

Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Producer: Ilan Goldman

See You Yesterday

Director: Stefon Bristol

Producer: Spike Lee



JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

Burning Cane

Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans

Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer,

Wendell Pierce, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans

Colewell

Writer/Director: Tom Quinn

Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm

Give Me Liberty

Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky

Writer/Producer: Alice Austen

Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern

Premature

Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green

Writer: Zora Howard

Producer: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes

Wild Nights With Emily

Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek

Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron

BEST DIRECTOR

Alma Har’el

Honey Boy

Lorene Scafaria

Hustlers

Julius Onah

Luce

Robert Eggers

The Lighthouse

Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie

Uncut Gems

BEST SCREENPLAY

Noah Baumbach

Marriage Story

Jason Begue, Shawn Snyder

To Dust

Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie

Uncut Gems

Chinonye Chukwu

Clemency

Tarell Alvin McCraney

High Flying Bird

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Fredrica Bailey & Stefon Bristol

See You Yesterday

Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen

Driveways

Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy

Blow the Man Down

Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe

Greener Grass

James Montague & Craig W. Sanger

The Vast of Night

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Todd Banhazl

Hustlers

Jarin Blaschke

The Lighthouse

Natasha Braier

Honey Boy

Chananun Chotrungroj

The Third Wife

Pawel Pogorzelski

Midsommar



BEST EDITING

Julie Béziau

The Third Wife

Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie

Uncut Gems

Tyler L. Cook

Sword of Trust         

Louise Ford

The Lighthouse

Kirill Mikhanovsky

Give Me Liberty



BEST FEMALE LEAD

Karen Allen

Colewell

Hong Chau

Driveways

Elisabeth Moss

Her Smell

Mary Kay Place

Diane

Alfre Woodard

Clemency

Renée Zellweger

Judy



BEST MALE LEAD

Chris Galust

Give Me Liberty

Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Luce

Robert Pattinson

The Lighthouse

Matthias Schoenaerts

The Mustang

Adam Sandler

Uncut Gems



BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Jennifer Lopez

Hustlers

Taylor Russell

Waves

Lauren “LoLo” Spencer

Give Me Liberty

Octavia Spencer

Luce

Zhao Shuzhen

The Farewell



BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Willem Dafoe

The Lighthouse

Noah Jupe

Honey Boy

Shia LaBeouf

Honey Boy

Jonathan Majors

The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Wendell Pierce

Burning Cane



ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast

Marriage Story

Director: Noah Baumbach

Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler

Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever



BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

American Factory

Director/Producer: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert

Producers: Julie Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert

Apollo 11

Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller

Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Petersen

For Sama

Director: Edward Watts

Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab

Honeyland

Director: Tamara Kotevska

Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov

Producer: Atanas Georgiev

Island of the Hungry Ghosts

Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady

Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh



BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

Invisible Life

Brazil

Director: Karim Aïnouz

Les Misérables

France

Director: Ladj Ly

Parasite

South Korea

Director: Bong Joon-Ho

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

France

Director: Céline Sciamma

Retablo

Peru

Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L.

The Souvenir

United Kingdom

Director: Joanna Hogg

BONNIE AWARD – Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the third Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.

Marielle Heller

Kelly Reichardt

Lulu Wang



PRODUCERS AWARD – The 23rd annual Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Mollye Asher

Krista Parris

Ryan Zacarias



SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 26th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Rashaad Ernesto Green

Director of Premature

Ash Mayfair

Director of The Third Wife

Joe Talbot

Director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 25th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Khalik Allah

Director of Black Mother

Davy Rothbart

Director of 17 Blocks

Nadia Shihab

Director of Jaddoland

Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside

Director of América

Follow @TVMusicNetwork, @Phyllis_Thomas and @belindasLAmusic on Twitter for the latest entertainment and pop culture news. Connect with other TV fans on our social media pages: TVMusic Network on Facebook or our Instagram Page.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel @TVMusicNetwork

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.