Film Independent, the nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering independence and inclusivity in visual storytelling, announced the nominations for the film categories at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Film Independent President Josh Welsh introduced the prerecorded video announcements, which featured guest presenters Raúl Castillo (2019 Spirit Award nominee for We Are Animals), and Taylour Paige (2022 Spirit Award winner for Zola).
The 2023 Best Feature nominees included Bones and All, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Tár, Women Talking and Our Father, the Devil. Everything Everywhere All At Once led all films with eight total nominations, including Best Director for Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, and acting nominations for stars Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu. Tár received seven nominations including Best Director for Todd Field and acting nominations for Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss.
New to the nominations this year is the Best Breakthrough Performance category, honoring actors making themselves known to wider audiences through noteworthy character portrayals. The nominees include, in addition to Stephanie Hsu, Frankie Corio of Aftersun, Gracija Filipović of Murina, Lily McInerny of Palm Trees and Power Lines and Daniel Zolghadri of Funny Pages.
Also new this year is a switch to gender neutral acting awards, with the separate lead and supporting actor and actress categories being replaced by the ten-nominee Best Lead and Best Supporting Performance awards.
Celebrating creative independence, diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision, the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards will take place on Saturday, March 4, 2023. The in-person show, held on the beach in Santa Monica, will be streamed internationally across multiple online and digital platforms. The Spirit Awards are the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round slate of programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity and inclusion in the industry. Reviews appear next to a title’s first appearance on the list.
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer.)
Bones and All
Producers: Timothée Chalamet, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Luca Guadagnino, David Kajganich, Lorenzo Mieli, Marco Morabito, Gabriele Moratti, Theresa Park, Peter Spears
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Producers: Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang
Our Father, the Devil
Producers: Ellie Foumbi, Joseph Mastantuono
Tár
Producers: Todd Field, Scott Lambert, Alexandra Milchan
Women Talking
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Frances McDormand
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
Aftersun
Director: Charlotte Wells
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski
Emily the Criminal
Director: John Patton Ford
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Aubrey Plaza, Drew Sykes
The Inspection
Director: Elegance Bratton
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Chester Algernal Gordon
Murina
Director: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
Producers: Danijel Pek, Rodrigo Teixeira
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Director/Producer: Jamie Dack
Producer: Leah Chen Baker
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer.)
The African Desperate
Writer/Director/Producer: Martine Syms
Writer/Producer: Rocket Caleshu
Producer: Vic Brooks
The Cathedral
Writer/Director: Ricky D’Ambrose
Producer: Graham Swon
Holy Emy
Writer/Director: Araceli Lemos
Writer/Producer: Giulia Caruso
Producers: Mathieu Bompoint, Ki Jin Kim, Konstantinos Vassilaros
A Love Song (review)
Writer/Director/Producer: Max Walker-Silverman
Producers: Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey
Something in the Dirt (review)
Writer/Director/Producer: Justin Benson
Director/Producer: Aaron Moorhead
Producer: David Lawson Jr.
BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Field
Tár
Kogonada
After Yang
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Sarah Polley
Women Talking
Halina Reijn
Bodies Bodies Bodies
BEST SCREENPLAY
Lena Dunham
Catherine Called Birdy
Todd Field
Tár
Kogonada
After Yang
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Sarah Polley
Women Talking
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Joel Kim Booster
Fire Island
Jamie Dack, Audrey Findlay; Story by Jamie Dack
Palm Trees and Power Lines
K.D. Dávila
Emergency
Sarah DeLappe, Story by Kristen Roupenian
Bodies Bodies Bodies
John Patton Ford
Emily the Criminal
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Cate Blanchett
Tár
Dale Dickey
A Love Song
Mia Goth
Pearl
Regina Hall
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Paul Mescal
Aftersun
Aubrey Plaza
Emily the Criminal
Jeremy Pope
The Inspection
Andrea Riseborough
To Leslie
Taylor Russell
Bones and All
Michelle Yeoh
Everything Everywhere All At Once
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Jamie Lee Curtis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Brian Tyree Henry
Causeway
Nina Hoss
Tár
Brian d’Arcy James
The Cathedral
Ke Huy Quan
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Trevante Rhodes
Bruiser
Theo Rossi
Emily the Criminal
Mark Rylance
Bones and All
Jonathan Tucker
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Gabrielle Union
The Inspection
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Frankie Corio
Aftersun
Gracija Filipović
Murina
Stephanie Hsu
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Lily McInerny
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Daniel Zolghadri
Funny Pages
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Florian Hoffmeister
Tár
Hélène Louvart
Murina
Gregory Oke
Aftersun
Eliot Rockett
Pearl
Anisia Uzeyman
Neptune Frost (review)
BEST EDITING
Ricky D’Ambrose
The Cathedral
Dean Fleischer Camp, Nick Paley
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Blair McClendon
Aftersun
Paul Rogers
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Monika Willi
Tár
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
Women Talking
Director: Sarah Polley
Casting Directors: John Buchan, Jason Knight
Ensemble Cast: Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, Ben Whishaw, August Winter
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
All That Breathes
Director/Producer: Shaunak Sen
Producers: Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons
A House Made of Splinters
Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont
Producers: Monica Hellström
Midwives
Director/Producer: Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
Producers: Mila Aung-Thwin, Ulla Lehmann, Bob Moore
Riotsville, U.S.A.
Director: Sierra Pettengill
Producers: Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Corsage
Austria/Luxembourg/France/Belgium/Italy/England
Director: Marie Kreutzer
Joyland
Pakistan/USA
Director: Saim Sadiq
Leonor Will Never Die
Philippines
Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar
Return to Seoul
Cambodia
Director: Davy Chou
Saint Omer
France
Director: Alice Diop
PRODUCERS AWARD presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey – The Producers Award, now in its 26th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.
Liz Cardenas
Tory Lenosky
David Grove Churchill Viste
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 29th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
Adamma Ebo
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Nikyatu Jusu
Nanny
Araceli Lemos
Holy Emy
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 28th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Isabel Castro
Mija
Reid Davenport
I Didn’t See You There
Rebeca Huntt
Beba
