Oscar season is indeed in full swing as the Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their nominations for this year’s ceremony, and it’s an interesting lineup. A24 leads the pack with six nominations each for Moonlight and American Honey, two of the year’s most passionately reviewed films. Moonlight in particular looks to be a major player on this year’s awards circuit, as writer/director Barry Jenkins’ triptych drama about a gay black man searching for his identity is crafted in astounding fashion. In addition to Best Feature, Moonlight secured nods for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing, and the film also scored the Robert Altman Award which is given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast each year. As for American Honey, the film landed nods for Best Feature, Best Director for Andrea Arnold, Best Female Lead for Sasha Lane, Best Supporting Female for Riley Keough, Best Supporting Male for Shia LaBeouf, and Best Cinematography.
Elsewhere, Manchester by the Sea—by all accounts a serious contender for multiple Oscars—fared well with nods for Best Feature, Best Male Lead for Casey Affleck, Best Supporting Male for Lucas Hedges, Best Screenplay for Kenneth Lonergan, and Best Editing, but Lonergan for some reason failed to secure a Best Director nod while Michelle Williams was left out of the Best Supporting Female pack and Jody Lee Lipes' stunning cinematography was snubbed.
Hell or High Water, the highest grossing indie of the year, was also left out of the Best Feature pack, though it did land nods for Best Editing, Best Screenplay for Taylor Sheridan, and Best Supporting Male for Ben Foster.
The Spirit Awards are always a fascinating event, and I’m happy to see Swiss Army Man got notice for Best First Feature from Daniels as it’s a 100% bona fide original piece of filmmaking. It’s also great to see Craig Robinson recognized for his tremendous work in Morris from America.
Check out the full list of nominees below. The winners will be announced during the ceremony on IFC on February 25th.
Best Feature:
“American Honey”
“Chronic”
“Jackie”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight”
Best Director:
Andrea Arnold, “American Honey”
Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
Pablo Larraín, “Jackie”
Jeff Nichols, “Loving”
Kelly Reichardt, “Certain Women”
Best First Feature:
“The Childhood of a Leader”
“The Fits”
“Other People”
“Swiss Army Man”
“The Witch”
Best Female Lead:
Annette Bening, “20th Century Women”
Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
Sasha Lane, “American Honey”
Ruth Negga, “Loving”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Best Male Lead:
Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
David Harewood, “Free In Deed”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Jesse Plemons, “Other People”
Tim Roth, “Chronic”
Best Supporting Female:
Edwina Findley, “Free In Deed”
Paulina García, “Little Men”
Lily Gladstone, “Certain Women”
Riley Keough, “American Honey”
Molly Shannon, “Other People”
Best Supporting Male:
Ralph Fiennes, “A Bigger Splash”
Ben Foster, “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
Shia LaBeouf, “American Honey”
Craig Robinson, “Morris from America”
Best Screenplay:
Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, “Moonlight”
Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”
Mike Mills, “20th Century Women”
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias, “Little Men”
Taylor Sheridan, “Hell or High Water”
Best First Screenplay:
Robert Eggers, “The Witch”
Chris Kelly, “Other People”
Adam Mansbach, “Barry”
Stella Meghie, “Jean of the Joneses”
Craig Shilowich, “Christine”
Best Cinematography:
Ava Berkofsky, “Free In Deed”
Lol Crawley, “The Childhood of a Leader”
Zach Kuperstein, “The Eyes of My Mother”
James Laxton, “Moonlight”
Robbie Ryan, “American Honey”
Best Editing:
Matthew Hannam, “Swiss Army Man”
Jennifer Lame, “Manchester by the Sea”
Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, “Moonlight”
Jake Roberts, “Hell or High Water”
Sebastián Sepúlveda, “Jackie”
John Cassavetes Award:
“Free In Deed”
“Hunter Gatherer”
“Lovesong”
“Nakom”
“Spa Night”
Piaget Producers Award:
Lisa Kjerulff
Jordana Mollick
Melody C. Roscher & Craig Shilowich