2025 Independent Spirit Award Winners

This is my first year as a voting member for Film Independent! I didn't get to watch the broadcast live since I was traveling, but I'm excited to see the results. Below is a full list of the winners + my thoughts. 

BEST FEATURE

Peter Hujar’s Day 

The Plague 

Sorry, Baby 

Train Dreams

Twinless 

I went all in for Sorry, Baby but it was Train Dreams that won the big one. 

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Blue Sun Palace

Dust Bunny

East of Wall 

Lurker 

One of Them Days

Lurker is a really strong debut so I was happy to see it win here. It's what I picked. 

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD 

The Baltimorons

Boys Go to Jupiter 

Eephus 

Esta Isla (This Island)

Familiar Touch 

I didn't see all the films in this category so I didn't vote, but from what I did see I would've went with The Baltimorons. 

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

I was hoping Eva Victor would win here.

BEST SCREENPLAY

Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin – Splitsville

Angus MacLachlan – A Little Prayer

James Sweeney – Twinless

Christian Swegal – Sovereign

Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby

Glad she picked up this win at least!

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

I really wish they'd split these categories back up, because based on how much the voting body liked Train Dreams, Joel Edgerton probably would've picked up a win here too. 

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

I LOVE this win. Naomi Ackie is such a star. 

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

Love that Kayo picked up this one. All 5 of these performances were really strong but his was the easy standout. 

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

I really hope this repeats at Oscars because Train Dreams is gorgeous. 

BEST EDITING

Ben Leonberg – Good Boy

Carson Lund – Eephus

Fin Oates – Warfare

Sara Shaw – Splitsville

Sofía Subercaseaux – The Testament of Ann Lee

I ADORE this win. The Academy completely shutting out this film is an absolute crime. 

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

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

Come See Me in the Good Light

Endless Cookie 

The Perfect Neighbor

My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow 

The Tale of Silyan  

Another one I hope repeats at Oscar. Exceptional filmmaking. Though I have to give a shout out to Come See Me in the Good Light because I cried like a baby during it. 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

All That’s Left of You 

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl 

A Poet 

The Secret Agent 

Sirāt 

The Secret Agent continues its win streak, though if I'm being honest, I liked On Becoming a Guinea Fowl better. 

PRODUCERS AWARD

Emma Hannaway

Luca Intili

Tony Yang

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

Tatti Ribeiro – Director of Valentina

Neo Sora – Director of Happyend

Annapurna Sriram – Director of Fucktoys

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

Tony Benna – Director of André is an Idiot

Rajee Samarasinghe – Director of Your Touch Makes Others Invisible

Brittany Shyne – Director of Seeds

BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES

Citizen Nation

Hurricane Katrina:

Pee-wee as Himself 

Seen & Heard: 

Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae 

BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

Adolescence 

Common Side Effects

Forever 

Mr Loverman 

North of North 

Adolescence also continues with its very much deserved win streak!

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

I'm glad to see Graham win here too, even against heavyweights like Wyle and Rogan for their shows. 

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

Doherty picking up another win makes me so happy!

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

Owen was always going to win this. It's also a good way of not putting him up against Stephen.

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

Chief of War