37th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Dominated by A24, Netflix, & Neon

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.

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