Hollywood honored the best independent films of the year Saturday afternoon at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

For Best Feature, Chinonye Chukwu‘s Clemency starring Alfre Woodard is nominated. Clemency is also nominated for Best Screenplay, as is High Flying Bird, scripted by Tarell Alvin McCraney. For Best First Feature, See You Yesterday, directed by Stefon Bristol and produced by Spike Lee is nominated. Julius Onah is nominated for Best Director for Luce. Fredrica Bailey and Stefon Bristol have a Best First Screenplay nomination for See You Yesterday, which is also nominated for Best First Feature.

Alfre Woodard is nominated for Best Female Lead for Clemency and Kelvin Harrison Jr. is nominated for Best Male Lead for Luce. For Best Supporting Female, Taylor Russell is nominated for Waves, Lauren “LoLo” Spencer is nominated for Give Me Liberty and Octavia Spencer is nominated for Luce. For Best Supporting Male, Jonathan Majors is nominated for The Last Black Man in San Francisco and Wendell Pierce is nominated for Burning Cane.

The John Cassavetes Award, which is given to the best feature made for under $500,000, Burning Cane, directed and written by Phillip Youmans is nominated, as well as Rashaad Ernesto Green’s Premature. Green is also nominated for the Someone to Watch Award. Khalik Allah, the director of Black Mother, is nominated for the Truer Than Fiction Award.

Check out the full list of nominees and winners below (Black talent or films with primarily Black talent are highlighted in bold):

BEST FEATURE

A HIDDEN LIFE∂

CLEMENCY

THE FAREWELL

MARRIAGE STORY

UNCUT GEMS

BEST FIRST FEATURE

BOOKSMART

THE CLIMB

DIANE

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE MUSTANG

SEE YOU YESTERDAY

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Karen Allen – COLEWELL

Hong Chau – DRIVEWAYS

Elisabeth Moss – HER SMELL

Mary Kay Place – DIANE

Alfre Woodard – CLEMENCY

Renée Zellweger – JUDY

BEST MALE LEAD

Chris Galust – GIVE ME LIBERTY

Kelvin Harrison Jr., – LUCE

Robert Pattinson – THE LIGHTHOUSE

Adam Sandler – UNCUT GEMS

Matthias Schoenaerts – THE MUSTANG

BEST DIRECTOR

Robert Eggers – THE LIGHTHOUSE

Alma Har’el – HONEY BOY

Julius Onah – LUCE

Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – UNCUT GEMS

Lorene Scafaria – HUSTLERS

BEST DOCUMENTARY

AMERICAN FACTORY

APOLLO 11

FOR SAMA

HONEYLAND

ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS

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

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Jennifer Lopez – HUSTLERS

Taylor Russell – WAVES

Zhao Shuzhen – THE FAREWELL

Lauren “Lolo” Spencer – GIVE ME LIBERTY

Octavia Spencer – LUCE

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

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

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 CINEMATOGRAPHY

Todd Banhazl – HUSTLERS

Jarin Blaschke – THE LIGHTHOUSE

Natasha Braier – HONEY BOY

Chananun Chotrungroj – THE THIRD WIFE

Pawel Pogorzelski – MIDSOMMAR

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

INVISIBLE LIFE, Brazil

LES MISERABLES, France

PARASITE, South Korea

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, France

RETABLO, Peru

THE SOUVENIR, United Kingdom

 

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 and Chase Whiteside, Director of América

 

READ MORE:

Spirit Awards Nominees Include ‘Luce,’ ‘Clemency,’ ‘Burning Cane’ And More

 

Photo: Film Independent