The 2019 Indie Spirit Awards felt a whole lot like an antidote to Oscar Madness, huh? Not only did the ceremony have an actual host—Aubrey Plaza, who unsurprisingly slayed—but the night's top prize went to Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk, a film not even nominated this year for a Best Picture Academy Award. (Jenkins himself also took home Best Director.) You Were Never Really Here and Sorry to Bother You, two films the Academy apparently didn't have time to catch in between marathon Bohemian Rhapsody screenings, snagged well-deserved nods for Best Editing and Best First Feature, respectively. Eighth Grade, another much-snubbed movie, nabbed a Best First Screenplay win for writer/director Bo Burnham. And, finally, some documentary justice for Won't You Be My Neighbor?
The only constant, as it should be in all things, is Glenn Close, who continued her apparently unimpeded march to the Oscars stage with another Best Actress win for The Wife.
Check out the full list of nominees below, with winners marked in red. The Indie Spirit Awards are voted on by the 6200 members of Film Independent, with all eligible films being produced for less than $20 million.
BEST FEATURE
Eighth Grade
First Reformed
If Beale Street Could Talk
Leave No Trace
You Were Never Really Here
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 FIRST FEATURE
Hereditary
Sorry to Bother You
The Tale
We the Animals
Wildlife
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 MALE LEAD
John Cho, Searching
Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Christian Malheiros, Sócrates
Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here
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 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 SCREENPLAY
Richard Glatzer (Writer/Story By), Rebecca Lenkiewicz & Wash Westmoreland, Colette
Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Tamara Jenkins, Private Life
Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
Paul Schrader, First Reformed
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
Christina Choe, Nancy
Cory Finley, Thoroughbreds
Jennifer Fox, The Tale
Quinn Shephard (Writer/Story By) and Laurie Shephard (Story By), Blame
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ashley Connor, Madeline's Madeline
Diego Garcia, Wildlife
Benjamin Loeb, Mandy
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Suspiria
Zak Mulligan, We the Animals
BEST EDITING
Joe Bini, You Were Never Really Here
Keiko Deguchi, Brian A. Kates & Jeremiah Zagar, We the Animals
Luke Dunkley, Nick Fenton, Chris Gill & Julian Hart, American Animals
Anne Fabini, Alex Hall and Gary Levy, The Tale
Nick Houy, Mid90s
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.)
A Bread Factory
En el Séptimo Día
Never Goin' Back
Sócrates
Thunder Road
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film director, casting director and ensemble cast.)
Suspiria
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Burning (South Korea)
The Favourite (United Kingdom)
Happy as Lazzaro (Italy)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
On Her Shoulders
Shirkers
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams
Gabrielle Nadig
Shrihari Sathe
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Alex Moratto, Sócrates
Ioana Uricaru, Lemonade
Jeremiah Zagar, We the Animals
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Alexandria Bombach, On Her Shoulders
Bing Liu, Minding the Gap
RaMell Ross, Hale County This Morning, This Evening
ANNUAL BONNIE AWARD
Debra Granik
Tamara Jenkins
Karyn Kusama