As awards season intensifies, we’ll be rolling out more coverage, including category-by-category breakdowns, predictions, and our own thoughts on who should win versus who is likely to win.

The Spirit Awards are voted on exclusively by Film Independent members. If you want to participate, you’ll need to join by December 16 to receive access to nominee screeners and a ballot for this year’s winners, along with year-round screenings, events and educational opportunities from Film Independent.

When and how to watch

The 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards will take place on Sunday, February 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The show will stream live at 5 pm ET / 2 pm PT on the Film Independent and IMDb YouTube channels, as well as across Film Independent’s social media platforms.

2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards: Full Film Nominations

Best Feature (Award given to the producer)

• Peter Hujar’s Day — Producers: Jonah Disend, Jordan Drake
• The Plague — Producers: Derek Dauchy, Joel Edgerton, Roy Lee, Lucy McKendrick, Steven Schneider, Lizzie Shapiro
• Sorry, Baby — Producers: Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski
• Train Dreams — Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman
• Twinless — Producers: David Permut, James Sweeney

Best First Feature (Award given to director and producer)

• Blue Sun Palace — Director: Constance Tsang; Producers: Sally Sujin Oh, Eli Raskin, Tony Yang
• Dust Bunny — Director/Producer: Bryan Fuller; Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee
• East of Wall — Director/Producer: Kate Beecroft; Producers: Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, Lila Yacoub
• Lurker — Director: Alex Russell; Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby
• One of Them Days — Director: Lawrence Lamont; Producers: Deniese Davis, Poppy Hanks, James Lopez, Issa Rae, Sara Rastogi

John Cassavetes Award

Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (award given to the writer, director and producer)

• The Baltimorons — Director/Writer/Producer: Jay Duplass; Writer/Producer: Michael Strassner; Producers: David Bonnett Jr., Drew Langer
• Boys Go to Jupiter — Director/Writer: Julian Glander
• Eephus — Director/Writer/Producer: Carson Lund; Writer/Producer: Michael Basta; Writer: Nate Fisher; Producers: David Entin, Tyler Taormina
• Esta Isla (This Island) — Directors/Writers/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina; Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos
• Familiar Touch — Director/Writer/Producer: Sarah Friedland; Producers: Alexandra Byer, Matthew Thurm

Best Director

• Clint Bentley — Train Dreams
• Mary Bronstein — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
• Lloyd Lee Choi — Lucky Lu
• Ira Sachs — Peter Hujar’s Day
• Eva Victor — Sorry, Baby

Best Screenplay

• Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin — Splitsville
• Angus MacLachlan — A Little Prayer
• James Sweeney — Twinless
• Christian Swegal — Sovereign
• Eva Victor — Sorry, Baby

Best First Screenplay

• Andrew DeYoung — Friendship
• Elena Oxman — Outerlands
• Alex Russell — Lurker
• Syreeta Singleton — One of Them Days
• Constance Tsang — Blue Sun Palace

Best Lead Performance

• Everett Blunck — The Plague
• Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
• Kathleen Chalfant — Familiar Touch
• Chang Chen — Lucky Lu
• Joel Edgerton — Train Dreams
• Dylan O’Brien — Twinless
• Keke Palmer — One of Them Days
• Théodore Pellerin — Lurker
• Tessa Thompson — Hedda
• Ben Whishaw — Peter Hujar’s Day

Best Supporting Performance

• Naomi Ackie — Sorry, Baby
• Zoey Deutch — Nouvelle Vague
• Kirsten Dunst — Roofman
• Rebecca Hall — Peter Hujar’s Day
• Nina Hoss — Hedda
• Jane Levy — A Little Prayer
• Archie Madekwe — Lurker
• Kali Reis — Rebuilding
• Jacob Tremblay — Sovereign
• Haipeng Xu — Blue Sun Palace

Best Breakthrough Performance

• Liz Larsen — The Baltimorons
• Misha Osherovich — She’s the He
• Kayo Martin — The Plague
• SZA — One of Them Days
• Tabatha Zimiga — East of Wall

Best Cinematography

• Alex Ashe — Peter Hujar’s Day
• Norm Li — Blue Sun Palace
• David J. Thompson — Warfare
• Adolpho Veloso — Train Dreams
• Nicole Hirsch Whitaker — Dust Bunny

Best Editing

• Ben Leonberg — Good Boy
• Carson Lund — Eephus
• Fin Oates — Warfare
• Sara Shaw — Splitsville
• Sofía Subercaseaux — The Testament of Ann Lee

Robert Altman Award

Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast

• The Long Walk — Director: Francis Lawrence; Casting Director: Rich Delia; Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing

Best Documentary (Award given to the director and producer)

• Come See Me in the Good Light — Director/Producer: Ryan White; Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen
• Endless Cookie — Director: Peter Scriver; Director/Producer: Seth Scriver; Producers: Dan Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Chris Yurkovich
• My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow — Director/Producer: Julia Loktev
• The Perfect Neighbor — Director/Producer: Geeta Gandbhir; Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne
• The Tale of Silyan — Director/Producer: Tamara Kotevska; Producers: Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski

Best International Film (Award given to the director)

• All That’s Left of You (Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus) — Director: Cherien Dabis
• On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Zambia, UK, Ireland) — Director: Rungano Nyoni
• A Poet (Colombia) — Director: Simón Mesa Soto
• The Secret Agent (Brazil) — Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
• Sirāt (Spain) — Director: Oliver Laxe

Emerging Filmmaker Awards

Producers Award

The Producers Award, now in its 29th year, honours an emerging producer who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrates the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

• Emma Hannaway
• Luca Intili
• Tony Yang

Someone to Watch Award

The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 32nd year, recognises a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

• Tatti Ribeiro — Director of Valentina
• Neo Sora — Director of Happyend
• Annapurna Sriram — Director of Fucktoys

Truer Than Fiction Award

The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 31st year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

• Tony Benna — Director of André is an Idiot
• Rajee Samarasinghe — Director of Your Touch Makes Others Invisible
• Brittany Shyne — Director of Seeds

Television Categories

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
(Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

• Citizen Nation — Creator: Bret Sigler; Executive Producers: Christopher Buck, Kyra Darnton
• Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time — Executive Producers: Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Ryan Coogler, Myles Estey, Ted Skillman, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Peter Nicks, Kalia King, Carolyn Payne, Sean David Johnson; Co-Executive Producer: Kelli Buchanan
• Pee-wee as Himself — Executive Producers: Matt Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, Kyle Martin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
• Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television — Executive Producers: Issa Rae, Montrel McKay, John Maggio, Rachel Dretzin, John Ealer, Jonathan Berry, Dave Becky, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez; Co-Executive Producers: Esther Dere, Zachary Herrmann
• Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae — Executive Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow, Amy Kaufman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker; Co-Executive Producer: Mark Becker

Best New Scripted Series
(Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

• Adolescence — Creators/Executive Producers: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham; Executive Producers: Philip Barantini, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Nina Wolarsky, Hannah Walters, Mark Herbert, Emily Feller; Co-Executive Producers: Carina Sposato, Niall Shamma, Peter Balm
• Common Side Effects — Creators/Executive Producers: Joe Bennett, Steve Hely; Executive Producers: Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, Dustin Davis, James Merrill, Sean Buckelew, Benjy Brooke, Kelly Crews, Suzanna Makkos; Co-Executive Producer: Dave King
• Forever — Creator/Executive Producer: Mara Brock Akil; Executive Producers: Regina King, Susie Fitzgerald, Shana C. Waterman, Reina King, Anthony Hemingway, Judy Blume, Erika Harrison, Sara E. White; Co-Executive Producer: Jerron Horton
• Mr Loverman — Executive Producers: Lennie James, Hong Khaou, Jo McClellan, Faye Ward, Hannah Farrell, Hannah Price
• North of North — Creators/Executive Producers: Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril; Executive Producers: Garry Campbell, Anya Adams, Susan Coyne, Miranda de Pencier; Co-Executive Producers: Teresa M. Ho, Michael Goldbach, Kathryn Borel Jr., JP Larocque

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series

• Sydney Chandler — Alien: Earth
• Stephen Graham — Adolescence
• Ethan Hawke — The Lowdown
• Lennie James — Mr Loverman
• Anna Lambe — North of North
• Lola Petticrew — Say Nothing
• Seth Rogen — The Studio
• Lovie Simone — Forever
• Michelle Williams — Dying for Sex
• Noah Wyle — The Pitt

Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series

• Ariyon Bakare — Mr Loverman
• Babou Ceesay — Alien: Earth
• Sharon D Clarke — Mr Loverman
• Taylor Dearden — The Pitt
• Erin Doherty — Adolescence
• Stephen McKinley Henderson — A Man on the Inside
• Poorna Jagannathan — Deli Boys
• Xosha Roquemore — Forever
• Jenny Slate — Dying for Sex
• Ben Whishaw — Black Doves

Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series

• Asif Ali — Deli Boys
• Wally Baram — Overcompensating
• Owen Cooper — Adolescence
• Michael Cooper Jr. — Forever
• Ernest Kingsley Junior — Washington Black

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series

• Chief of War — Ensemble Cast: Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale’o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, James Udom

Further Reading and Points of Review coverage

If you want to dive deeper into some of this year’s nominees, we’ve already been spending time with a number of these films and filmmakers:

• Review of Sorry, Baby
• Interview with cinematographer Mia Cioffi Henry on the look of Sorry, Baby
• Spotlight on East of Wall
• Interview with director Ben Leonberg about Good Boy
• Our mid-year write-up featuring Warfare and other 2025 standouts
• Our Sundance coverage, including The Perfect Neighbor
• Interview with director Tamara Kotevska about The Tale of Silyan
• Exclusive pitch deck from Annapurna Sriram for  Fucktoys

We’ll continue to track how the race evolves, dig into the craft behind these projects and share our predictions as we get closer to February 15. For now, this is your complete guide to the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations.