Strong showings for “Eighth Grade” and “You Were Never Really Here” highlight the Independent Spirit Award nominations
Moments ago, the Film Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominations for 2018. Essentially the Oscars of indie film, this is a time when certain movies can see their only true moment in the sun. As you’ll see below, the nominees this year represent both some major Academy Award players as well as some tiny titles that will go no further. That’s actually part of the real appeal of the Spirits, in that they place these flicks side by side. This seems like one of those years where the Spirit Award winners won’t cross over too much with Oscar, but that remains to be seen. First up, we can just go over the nominees.
The Spirit Awards, nomination wise, were led this year by, in a surprise…We the Animals. Scoring five nominations, that led the field, with Eighth Grade, First Reformed, and You Were Never Really Here next in line with four. Each saw a nice little bump to their overall awards prospects. Getting three citations apiece were If Beale Street Could Talk, Leave No Trace, Private Life, The Tale, and Wildlife. Notably, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Hereditary, and Sorry to Bother You received two nominations each. Then, there was the disappointing single citation for BlacKkKlansman. Others popped up here and there, but those were most notable showings.
Among surprising omissions and snubs, it probably should have been a better day for BlacKkKlansman, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and a few other titles. Overall, my best guess is that this ends up being a place where a whole bunch of different things end up winning. Glenn Close seems like she’ll take Actress, while Ethan Hawke (for First Reformed) and Joaquin Phoenix (for You Were Never Really Here) will duke it out in Actor. Regina King (for If Beale Street Could Talk) and Richard E. Grant (for Can You Ever Forgive Me?) are the favorites in Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor, respectively. Director and Feature could go any number of ways though. That should make this a pretty fun precursor to follow…
Here now are the full 2018 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations:
BEST FEATURE
Eighth Grade
Producers: Eli Bush, Scott Rudin, Christopher Storer, Lila Yacoub
First Reformed
Producers: Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Gary Hamilton, Victoria Hill, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, Deepak Sikka, Christine Vachon
If Beale Street Could Talk
Producers: Dede Gardner, Barry Jenkins, Jeremy Kleiner, Sara Murphy, Adele Romanski
Leave No Trace
Producers: Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini
You Were Never Really Here
Producers: Rosa Attab, Pascal Caucheteux, Rebecca O’Brien, Lynne Ramsay, James Wilson
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Hereditary
Director: Ari Aster
Producers: Kevin Frakes, Lars Knudsen, Buddy Patrick
Sorry to Bother You
Director: Boots Riley
Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jonathan Duffy, Charles D. King, George Rush, Forest Whitaker, Kelly Williams
The Tale
Director/Producer: Jennifer Fox
Producers: Sol Bondy, Lawrence Inglee, Mynette Louie, Oren Moverman, Simone Pero, Reka Posta, Laura Rister, Regina K. Scully, Lynda Weinman
We the Animals
Director: Jeremiah Zagar
Producers: Andrew Goldman, Christina D. King, Paul Mezey, Jeremy Yaches
Wildlife
Director/Producer: Paul Dano
Producers: Andrew Duncan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark, Alex Saks
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.
A Bread Factory
Writer/Director/Producer: Patrick Wang
Producers: Daryl Freimark, Matt Miller
En el Séptimo DÃa
Writer/Director/Producer: Jim McKay
Producers: Alex Bach, Lindsey Cordero, Caroline Kaplan, Michael Stipe
Never Goin’ Back
Writer/Director: Augustine Frizzell
Producers: Liz Cardenas, Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston
Sócrates
Writer/Director/Producer: Alex Moratto
Writer: Thayná Mantesso
Producers: Ramin Bahrani, Jefferson Paulino, Tammy Weiss
Thunder Road
Writer/Director: Jim Cummings
Producers: Natalie Metzger, Zack Parker, Benjamin Weissner
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
Richard Glatzer (Writer/Story By), Rebecca Lenkiewicz & Wash Westmoreland – Colette
Nicole Holofcener and 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), 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, Gary Levy – The Tale
Nick Houy – Mid90s
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
Ra̼l Castillo РWe the Animals
Adam Driver – BLACKkKLANSMAN
Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Josh Hamilton – Eighth Grade
John David Washington – Monsters and Men
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
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 Winkler
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Director/Producer: RaMell Ross
Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim
Minding the Gap
Director/Producer: Bing Liu
Producer: Diane Quon
Of Fathers and Sons
Director: Talal Derki
Producers: Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, Tobias N. Siebert
On Her Shoulders
Director: Alexandria Bombach
Producers: Hayley Pappas, Brock Williams
Shirkers
Director/Producer: Sandi Tan
Producers: Jessica Levin, Maya Rudolph
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Director/Producer: Morgan Neville
Producers: Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Burning
South Korea
Director: Lee Chang-Dong
The Favourite
United Kingdom
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Happy as Lazzaro
Italy
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Roma
Mexico
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Shoplifters
Japan
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu
BONNIE AWARD – Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the second Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.
Debra Granik
Tamara Jenkins
Karyn Kusama
PRODUCERS AWARD – The 22nd annual Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams
Gabrielle Nadig
Shrihari Sathe
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 25th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Alex Moratto
Director of Sócrates
Ioana Uricaru
Director of Lemonade
Jeremiah Zagar
Director of We the Animals
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 24th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Alexandria Bombach
Director of On Her Shoulders
Bing Liu
Director of Minding the Gap
RaMell Ross
Director of Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Stay tuned to see how these nominees do during the awards season and which ultimately take him Spirit Awards in a few months!
