Film Independent has announced its nominations for the 35th Independent Spirit Awards. The Lighthouse and Uncut Gems lead all films with five bids apiece.
The executive board of Film Independent decides on all nominations while the entire membership votes on winners. I have been a voting member for the last four years, and I am once again thrilled to have a part in honoring the best in independent film for 2019.
Six of the past eight Best Picture Oscar 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
- Clemency – Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong
- The Farewell – Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng
- A Hidden Life – Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter
- Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach, David Heyman
- Uncut Gems – Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Scott Rudin
BEST FIRST FEATURE
- Booksmart – Olivia Wilde; Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman
- The Climb – Michael Angelo Covino; Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin
- Diane – Kent Jones; Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman
- The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Joe Talbot; Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh
- The Mustang – Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre; Ilan Goldman
See You Yesterday – Stefon Bristol; Spike Lee
BEST DIRECTOR
- Robert Eggers – The Lighthouse
- Alma Har’el – Honey Boy
- Julius Onah – Luce
- Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – Uncut Gems
- Lorene Scafaria – Hustlers
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 SUPPORTING FEMALE
- Jennifer Lopez – Hustlers
- Taylor Russell – Waves
- Zhao Shuzhen – The Farewell
- Lauren “Lolo” Spencer – Give Me Liberty
- Octavia Spencer – Luce
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 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
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Award given to the Best Feature Made for Under $500,000; Award given to the Writer, Director, And Producer)
- Burning Cane – Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer, Wendell Pierce, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans
- Colewell – Writer/Director: Tom Quinn Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm
- Give Me Liberty – Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky Writer/Producer: Alice Austen Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern
- Premature – Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green Writer: Zora Howard Producers: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes
- Wild Nights with Emily – Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron
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 DOCUMENTARY
- American Factory – Directors/Producers: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert Producers: Julie Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert
- Apollo 11 – Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Petersen
- For Sama – Director: Edward Watts Director/Producer: Waad Al-Kataeb
- Honeyland – Director: Tamara Kotevska Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov Producer: Atanas Georgiev
- Island of the Hungry Ghosts – Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
- Invisible Life, Brazil – Karim Aïnouz
- Les Misérables, France – Ladj Ly
- Parasite, South Korea – Bong Joon-ho
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire, France – Céline Sciamma
- Retablo, Peru – Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L.
- The Souvenir, United Kingdom – Joanna Hogg
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
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