Film Independent Spirit Awards 2026: Complete list of nominees

The Film Independent Spirit Awards are officially set for their 41st year with a notable list of nominees. The nominations were officially announced on Wednesday. It features notable auteurs, rising stars, multiple international figures, and more.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards are one of the major ceremonies that are completely dedicated to independent storytelling with small production teams, touching narratives, and more.

However, Film Independent Spirits sometimes become indicators of films that might dominate the awards season later. Anora, the 2025 winner, is one of the notable examples. It swept both the Spirits and Oscars.

Film Independent Spirits issued an official press release to declare its 2026 nominees. It read:

"Hurray for Hollywood! The 41st annual Film Independent Spirit Awards are just around the corner and headed to the Hollywood Palladium. Today, we are excited to announce the nominees for the 2026 Spirit Awards. Spirit Awards winners are voted on exclusively by Film Independent Members. Be sure to join by December 16 to receive access to nominee screeners and full Spirit Awards Member benefits."

Film Independent Spirits authorities also added:

"The show will stream live from the heart of Tinseltown, celebrating the best of independent film and television. Tune in Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 5 pm ET / 2 pm PT on the Film Independent and IMDb YouTube channels, and across Film Independent’s social platforms."

This year's Film Independent Spirits nominees come from 18 countries. Among nominated films for the 2026 Film Independent Spirits, Peter Hujar's Day leads with five nominations.

It is followed by Blue Sun Palace, Lurker, One of Them Days, Sorry, Baby, and Train Dreams, each scoring four. Lucky Lu, The Plague, and Twinless follow with three nods. On the television side, Adolescence, Forever, and Mr Loverman top the lists with four nominations each.

Complete list of 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees

Best Feature of Film Independent Spirit Awards 2026

Peter Hujar’s Day
Producers: Jonah Disend, Jordan Drake
The Plague
Producers: Derek Dauchy, Joel Edgerton, Roy Lee, Lucy McKendrick, Steven Schneider, Lizzie Shapiro
Sorry, Baby
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski
Train Dreams
Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman
Twinless
Producers: David Permut, James Sweeney

Best First Feature of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards

(Award given to the director and producer)

Blue Sun Palace
Director: Constance Tsang
Producers: Sally Sujin Oh, Eli Raskin, Tony Yang
Dust Bunny
Director/Producer: Bryan Fuller
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee
East of Wall
Director/Producer: Kate Beecroft
Producers: Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, Lila Yacoub
Lurker
Director: Alex Russell
Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby
One of Them Days
Director: Lawrence Lamont
Producers: Deniese Davis, Poppy Hanks, James Lopez, Issa Rae, Sara Rastogi

John Cassavetes Award

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

The Baltimorons
Director/Writer/Producer: Jay Duplass
Writer/Producer: Michael Strassner
Producers: David Bonnett Jr., Drew Langer
Boys Go to Jupiter
Director/Writer: Julian Glander
Eephus
Director/Writer/Producer: Carson Lund
Writer/Producer: Michael Basta
Writer: Nate Fisher
Producers: David Entin, Tyler Taormina
Esta Isla (This Island)
Directors/Writers/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina
Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos
Familiar Touch
Director/Writer/Producer: Sarah Friedland
Producers: Alexandra Byer, Matthew Thurm

Best Director

Clint Bentley, Train Dreams
Mary Bronstein, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lloyd Lee Choi, Lucky Lu
Ira Sachs, Peter Hujar’s Day
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby

Best Screenplay

Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Splitsville
Angus MacLachlan, A Little Prayer
James Sweeney, Twinless
Christian Swegal, Sovereign
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby

Best First Screenplay

Andrew DeYoung, Friendship
Elena Oxman, Outerlands
Alex Russell, Lurker
Syreeta Singleton, One of Them Days
Constance Tsang, Blue Sun Palace

Best Lead Performance

Everett Blunck, The Plague
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kathleen Chalfant, Familiar Touch
Chang Chen, Lucky Lu
Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams
Dylan O’Brien, Twinless
Keke Palmer, One of Them Days
Théodore Pellerin, Lurker
Tessa Thompson, Hedda
Ben Whishaw, Peter Hujar’s Day

Best Supporting Performance

Naomi Ackie, Sorry, Baby
Zoey Deutch, Nouvelle Vague
Kirsten Dunst, Roofman
Rebecca Hall, Peter Hujar’s Day
Nina Hoss, Hedda
Jane Levy, A Little Prayer
Archie Madekwe, Lurker
Kali Reis, Rebuilding
Jacob Tremblay, Sovereign
Haipeng Xu, Blue Sun Palace

Best Breakthrough Performance

Liz Larsen, The Baltimorons
Misha Osherovich, She’s the He
Kayo Martin, The Plague
SZA, One of Them Days
Tabatha Zimiga, East of Wall

Best Cinematography

Alex Ashe, Peter Hujar’s Day
Norm Li, Blue Sun Palace
David J. Thompson, Warfare
Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams
Nicole Hirsch Whitaker, Dust Bunny

Best Editing

Ben Leonberg, Good Boy
Carson Lund, Eephus
Fin Oates, Warfare
Sara Shaw, Splitsville
Sofía Subercaseaux, The Testament of Ann Lee

Robert Altman Award

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

The Long Walk
Director: Francis Lawrence
Casting Director: Rich Delia
Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing

Best Documentary

(Award given to director and producer)

Come See Me in the Good Light
Director/Producer: Ryan White
Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen
Endless Cookie
Director: Peter Scriver
Director/Producer: Seth Scriver
Producers: Dan Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Chris Yurkovich
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
Director/Producer: Julia Loktev
The Perfect Neighbor
Director/Producer: Geeta Gandbhir
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne
The Tale of Silyan
Director/Producer: Tamara Kotevska
Producers: Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski

Best International Film

(Award given to the director)

All That’s Left of You (Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus)
Director: Cherien Dabis
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Zambia, UK, Ireland)
Director: Rungano Nyoni
A Poet (Colombia)
Director: Simón Mesa Soto
The Secret Agent (Brazil)
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Sirāt (Spain)
Director: Oliver Laxe

Producers Award

Emma Hannaway
Luca Intili
Tony Yang

Someone to Watch Award

Tatti Ribeiro, Valentina
Neo Sora, Happyend
Annapurna Sriram, Fucktoys

Truer Than Fiction Award

Tony Benna, André is an Idiot
Rajee Samarasinghe, Your Touch Makes Others Invisible
Brittany Shyne, Seeds

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series

Citizen Nation
Creator: Bret Sigler
Executive Producers: Christopher Buck, Kyra Darnton
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time
Executive Producers: Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Ryan Coogler, Myles Estey, Ted Skillman, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Peter Nicks, Kalia King, Carolyn Payne, Sean David Johnson
Co-Executive Producer: Kelli Buchanan
Pee-wee as Himself
Executive Producers: Matt Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, Kyle Martin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television
Executive Producers: Issa Rae, Montrel McKay, John Maggio, Rachel Dretzin, John Ealer, Jonathan Berry, Dave Becky, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Co-Executive Producers: Esther Dere, Zachary Herrmann
Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae
Executive Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow, Amy Kaufman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker
Co-Executive Producer: Mark Becker

Best New Scripted Series

Adolescence
Creators/Executive Producers: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham
Executive Producers: Philip Barantini, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Nina Wolarsky, Hannah Walters, Mark Herbert, Emily Feller
Co-Executive Producers: Carina Sposato, Niall Shamma, Peter Balm
Common Side Effects
Creators/Executive Producers: Joe Bennett, Steve Hely
Executive Producers: Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, Dustin Davis, James Merrill, Sean Buckelew, Benjy Brooke, Kelly Crews, Suzanna Makkos
Co-Executive Producer: Dave King
Forever
Creator/Executive Producer: Mara Brock Akil
Executive Producers: Regina King, Susie Fitzgerald, Shana C. Waterman, Reina King, Anthony Hemingway, Judy Blume, Erika Harrison, Sara E. White
Co-Executive Producer: Jerron Horton
Mr Loverman
Executive Producers: Lennie James, Hong Khaou, Jo McClellan, Faye Ward, Hannah Farrell, Hannah Price
North of North
Creators/Executive Producers: Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Executive Producers: Garry Campbell, Anya Adams, Susan Coyne, Miranda de Pencier
Co-Executive Producers: Teresa M. Ho, Michael Goldbach, Kathryn Borel Jr., JP Larocque

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series

Sydney Chandler, Alien: Earth
Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Ethan Hawke, The Lowdown
Lennie James, Mr Loverman
Anna Lambe, North of North
Lola Petticrew, Say Nothing
Seth Rogen, The Studio
Lovie Simone, Forever
Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex
Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series

Ariyon Bakare, Mr Loverman
Babou Ceesay, Alien: Earth
Sharon D. Clarke, Mr Loverman
Taylor Dearden, The Pitt
Erin Doherty, Adolescence
Stephen McKinley Henderson, A Man on the Inside
Poorna Jagannathan, Deli Boys
Xosha Roquemore, Forever
Jenny Slate, Dying for Sex
Ben Whishaw, Black Doves

Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series

Asif Ali, Deli Boys
Wally Baram, Overcompensating
Owen Cooper, Adolescence
Michael Cooper Jr., Forever
Ernest Kingsley Junior, Washington Black

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series

Chief of War
Ensemble Cast: Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale’o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, James Udom

The 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards will be held at Hollywood Palladium on February 15, 2026. It will also be streamed live on the Film Independent and IMDb YouTube channels, among other digital platforms.

For further updates, fans can keep an eye on the official Film Independent Spirits pages.

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