The Independent Spirit Awards are one of our greatest awards-season traditions. Only during the Spirits will you see Aubrey Plaza introduce a choir of gay men to sing about Laura Dern, or hear Aidy Bryant say, “Charles Melton, everyone wants to have sex with you, you stupid bitch!” And that is important. The Indie Spirits are a place where movies that won’t get the shine they deserve throughout the rest of awards season, because they are, for example, a downcast horror tone poem that is also a trans allegory, get to beat the films that likely will be nominated for Oscars. I Saw the TV Glow tied with Best Picture front-runner Anora for most noms with five on December 4. If the Oscars are cool, they will take note. Below, the full list of the 2025 Independent Spirit Award nominations.
Best Feature
Anora
I Saw the TV Glow
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
The Substance
Best First Feature
Dìdi
In the Summers
Janet Planet
The Piano Lesson
Problemista
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $1 million)
Big Boys
Ghostlight
Girls Will Be Girls
Jazzy
The People’s Joker
Best Director
Ali Abbasi — The Apprentice
Sean Baker — Anora
Brady Corbet — The Brutalist
Alonso Ruizpalacios — La Cocina
Jane Schoenbrun — I Saw the TV Glow
Best Screenplay
Scott Beck, Bryan Woods — Heretic
Jesse Eisenberg — A Real Pain
Megan Park — My Old Ass
Aaron Schimberg — A Different Man
Jane Schoenbrun — I Saw the TV Glow
Best First Screenplay
Joanna Arnow — The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
Annie Baker — Janet Planet
India Donaldson — Good One
Julio Torres — Problemista
Sean Wnag — Dìdi
Best Lead Performance
Amy Adams — Nightbitch
Ryan Destiny — The Fire Inside
Colman Domingo — Sing Sing
Keith Kupferer — Ghostlight
Mikey Madison — Anora
Demi Moore — The Substance
Hunter Schafer — Cuckoo
Justice Smith — I Saw the TV Glow
June Squibb — Thelma
Sebastian Stan — The Apprentice
Best Supporting Performance
Yura Borisov — Anora
Joan Chen — Dìdi
Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain
Danielle Deadwyler — The Piano Lesson
Carol Kane — Between the Temples
Karren Karagulian — Anora
Kani Kusruti — Girls Will Be Girls
Brigette Lundy-Paine — I Saw the TV Glow
Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin — Sing Sing
Adam Pearson — A Different Man
Best Breakthrough Performance
Isaac Krasner — Big Boys
Katy O’Brian — Love Lies Bleeding
Mason Alexander Park — National Anthem
René Pérez Joglar — In the Summers
Maisy Stella — My Old Ass
Best Cinematography
Dinh Duy Hung — Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
Jomo Fray — Nickel Boys
Maria von Hausswolff — Janet Planet
Juan Pablo Ramírez — La Cocina
Rina Yang — The Fire Inside
Best Editing
Laura Colwell, Vanara Taing — Jazzy
Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm — The Apprentice
Anne McCabe — Nightbitch
Hansjörg Weissbrich — September 5
Arielle Zakowski — Dìdi
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast)
His Three Daughters
Best Documentary
Gaucho Gaucho
Hummingbirds
No Other Land
Patrice: The Movie
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Best International Film
All We Imagine As Light
Black Dog
Flow
Green Border
Hard Truths
Producers Award
Alex Coco
Sarah Winshall
Zoë Worth
Someone to Watch Award
Nicholas Colia — Griffin in Summer
Sarah Friedland — Familiar Touch
Pham Thien An — Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
Truer Than Fiction Award
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie — Sugarcane
Carla Gutiérrez — Frida
Rachel Elizabeth Seed — A Photographic Memory
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color
Hollywood Black
Photographer
Ren Faire
Social Studies
Best New Scripted Series
Baby Reindeer
Diarra From Detroit
English Teacher
Fantasmas
Shōgun
Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Brian Jordan Alvarez — English Teacher
Richard Gadd — Baby Reindeer
Lily Gladstone — Under the Bridge
Kathryn Hahn — Agatha All Along
Cristin Milioti — The Penguin
Julianne Moore — Mary & George
Hiroyuki Sanada — Shōgun
Anna Sawai — Shōgun
Andrew Scott — Ripley
Julio Torres — Fantasmas
Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Tadanobu Asano — Shōgun
Enrico Colantoni — English Teacher
Betty Gilpin — Three Women
Chloe Guidry — Under the Bridge
Moeka Hoshi — Shōgun
Stephanie Koenig — English Teacher
Patti LuPone — Agatha All Along
Nava Mau — Baby Reindeer
Ruth Negga — Presumed Innocent
Brian Tee — Expats
Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Jessica Gunning — Baby Reindeer
Diarra Kilpatrick — Diarra From Detroit
Joe Locke — Agatha All Along
Megan Stott — Penelope
Hoa Xuande — The Sympathizer
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Series
How to Die Alone