2020 Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Awards season is kicking off with the beloved Spirit Nominations. I love independent films and my favorite thing about these is getting more recommendations. But I have to say....this year's nominations are weird. NO Jojo Rabbit, barely any Marriage Story and way too much Lighthouse and Hustlers for me personally. Plus a few big snubs, but hey, there's nothing wrong with being unpredictable. Here are the nominees + my thoughts. 

BEST DIRECTOR

Alma Har’el, Honey Boy

Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers

Julius Onah, Luce

Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse

Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems

Honey Boy and Uncut Gems are the only two I haven't. Out of the ones I did see, Luce was my favorite. Otherwise these were pretty surprising aside from Eggers and Har'el. I expected Baumbach and possibly Taika if Jojo Rabbit qualified here.

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

I haven't seen these. Marriage Story is one of my must sees of the year and Clemency is in my DVD queue. I see High Flying Bird is available to stream on Netflix, so I'll likely check that out soon.

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

Unfortunately I haven't seen any of these. Have you? Do you have a recommendation?

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Todd Banhazl, Hustlers

Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse

Natasha Braier, Honey Boy

Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife

Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommar

I'm happy to see Midsommar here. Lighthouse was a given. Hustlers is a surprise. I think The Last Black Man in San Francisco or Them That Follow should've been here personally.

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 

This is disappointing as I really wanted Florence Pugh to be here for Midsommar and Awkwafina for The Farewell. Elizabeth Moss getting in is a bit of a surprise as Her Smell came out so early in the year. 

BEST MALE LEAD

Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty

Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luce

Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse

Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang

Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems

Adam Driver apparently wasn't eliglble because Marriage Story got the Cast Award so that's a huge lose for this category. Kelvin Harrison Jr. getting in for Luce is wonderful though. I wish Roman Griffin Davis were here for Jojo Rabbit.

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers

Taylor Russell, Waves

Lauren “LoLo” Spencer, Give Me Liberty

Octavia Spencer, Luce

Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell

I guess JLo really is going after that Oscar. I'm happy for Shuzhen and Spencer. The other films I plan on seeing as soon as I get the chance.

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 

FINALLY LBMISF gets some love. Burning Cane is on Netflix so I'll give that a watch. DaFoe was great in The Lighthouse and I'm looking forward to Honey Boy.

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 

American Factory

Apollo 11

For Sama

Honeyland

Island of the Hungry Ghosts

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM 

Invisible Life - Brazil

Les Misérables - France

Parasite-South Korea

Portrait of a Lady on Fire - France

Retablo - Peru

The Souvenir - United Kingdom

I've only seen Parasite which was wonderful. I really want to see Portrait of a Lady on Fire as well.

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