2026 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS – Nominees

The film industry may be in a state of flux, but one thing remains consistent: A passion for giving statues to our faves! Awards Season continues with today’s announcement of the 2026 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS nominees. This year’s awards ceremony — celebrating the year’s best indie film and TV — will take place on February 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium (a brief hiatus away from the usual Santa Monica Beach ceremony). SAGindie will be in attendance, but in the meantime, check out the full list of nominees below!

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2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees:

Film Awards

Best Feature

• Peter Hujar’s Day
• The Plague
• Sorry, Baby
• Train Dreams
• Twinless

Best First Feature

• Blue Sun Palace
• Dust Bunny
• East of Wall
• Lurker
• One of Them Days

John Cassavetes Award (for best film made for under $1 million)

• The Baltimorons
• Boys Go to Jupiter
• Eephus
• Esta Isla (This Island)
• Familiar Touch

Best Documentary

• Come See Me in the Good Light
• Endless Cookie
• My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
• The Perfect Neighbor
• The Tale of Silyan

Best International Film

• All That’s Left of You (Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus)
• On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Zambia, UK, Ireland)
• A Poet (Colombia)
• The Secret Agent (Brazil)
• Sirāt (Spain)

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)
• Haipen Xu (Blue Sun Palace)

Best Breakthrough Performance

• Liz Larsen (The Baltimorons)
• Kayo Martin (The Plague)
• Misha Osherovich (She’s the He)
• 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 (for best ensemble casting)

• The Long Walk (Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing)

Emerging Filmmaker Awards

Producers Award

• Emma Hannaway
• Luca Intili
• Tony Yang

Someone To Watch Award

• Tatti Ribeiro
• Neo Sora
• Annapurna Sriram

Truer Than Fiction Award

• Tony Benna
• Rajee Samarasinghe
• Brittany Shyne

TV Awards

Best New Scripted Series

• Adolescence
• Common Side Effects
• Forever
• Mr Loverman
• North of North

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series

• Citizen Nation
• Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time
• Pee-Wee As Himself
• Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television
• Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae

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 Kinsley Junior (Washington Black)

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series

• Chief of War (Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goode, 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)

CONGRATS TO THE 2026 SPIRIT AWARD NOMINEES!

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