Film Independent has announced their nominations for the 34th Independent Spirit Awards, with We the Animals leading with five, followed by Eighth Grade, First Reformed and You Were Never Really Here at four apiece.
The executive board of Film Independent decides on all nominations while the entire membership votes on winners. As a voting member for the past three years, I am honored to partake in getting those screeners and selecting this year’s crop of winners.
With independent film continuing to be wholly embraced by the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards have become a bit of a precursor over the past decade. Five of the past seven Best Picture winners were rewarded in the equivalent category at the Independent Spirit Awards, including: Moonlight, Spotlight, Birdman, 12 Years a Slave and The Artist.
Here’s the full list of Independent Spirit Award nominations for 2018:
BEST FEATURE
Eighth Grade
First Reformed
If Beale Street Could Talk
Leave No Trace
You Were Never Really Here
BEST MALE LEAD
John Cho – Searching
Daveed Diggs – Blindspotting
Ethan Hawke – First Reformed
Christian Malheiros – Sócrates
Joaquin Phoenix – You Were Never Really Here
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Glenn Close – The Wife
Toni Collette – Hereditary
Elsie Fisher – Eighth Grade
Regina Hall – Support the Girls
Helena Howard – Madeline’s Madeline
Carey Mulligan – Wildlife
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Raúl Castillo – We the Animals
Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Josh Hamilton – Eighth Grade
John David Washington – Monsters and Men
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Kayli Carter – Private Life
Tyne Daly – A Bread Factory
Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie – Leave No Trace
J. Smith-Cameron – Nancy
BEST DIRECTOR
Debra Granik – Leave No Trace
Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk
Tamara Jenkins – Private Life
Lynne Ramsay – You Were Never Really Here
Paul Schrader – First Reformed
BEST SCREENPLAY
Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
Colette – Richard Glatzer, Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Wash Westmoreland
First Reformed – Paul Schrader
Private Life – Tamara Jenkins
Sorry to Bother You – Boots Riley
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Hereditary
Sorry to Bother You
The Tale
We the Animals
Wildlife
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Blame – Quinn Shephard and Laurie Shephard
Eighth Grade – Bo Burnham
Nancy – Christina Choe
The Tale – Jennifer Fox
Thoroughbreds – Cory Finley
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Madeline’s Madeline – Ashley Connor
Mandy – Benjamin Loeb
Suspiria – Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
We the Animals – Zak Mulligan
Wildlife – Diego Garcia
BEST EDITING
American Animals – Luke Dunkley, Nick Fenton, Chris Gill and Julian Hart
Mid90s – Nick Houy
The Tale – Anne Fabini, Alex Hall and Gary Levy
We the Animals – Keiko Deguchi, Brian A. Kates and Jeremiah Zagar
You Were Never Really Here – Joe Bini
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
On Her Shoulders
Shirkers
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Burning
The Favourite
Happy as Lazzaro
Roma
Shoplifters
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Film made for under $500,000)
A Bread Factory
En el Séptimo Día
Never Goin’ Back
Sócrates
Thunder Road
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Best Ensemble)
Suspiria
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Casting Directors: Avy Kaufman, Stella Savino
Ensemble Cast: Malgosia Bela, Ingrid Caven, Lutz Ebersdorf, Elena Fokina, Mia Goth, Jessica Harper, Dakota Johnson, Gala Moody, Chloë Grace Moretz, Renée Soutendijk, Tilda Swinton, Sylvie Testud, Angela Winkle
JEEP TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (RaMell Ross)
Minding the Gap (Bing Liu)
On Her Shoulders (Alexander Bombach)
KIEHL’s SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Lemonade (Ioana Uricaru)
Sócrates (Alex Moratto)
We the Animals (Jeremiah Zagar)
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams
Gabriel Nadig
Shrihari Sathe
AMERICAN AIRLINES BONNIE AWARD
Debra Granik
Tamara Jenkins
Karyn Kusama