2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced!
With everything going on in the world, getting excited about awards season may at times seem like an indulgence of attention that most Americans can no longer afford. But beyond the glamor of the celebrity carpet, bright lights and pewter awards statuettes, the Film Independent Spirit Awards stand for something much deeper: championing creative independence in visual storytelling and supporting a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision—a mission that is more relevant now than ever before.
So today we’re honored to announce the nominees for the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards, revealed at a press conference this morning at the W Hotel in Hollywood by presenters Edgar Ramirez (Zero Dark Thirty, Joy) and Jenny Slate (Obvious Child, The Secret Life of Pets). This year’s Spirit Award nominees are yet another esteemed group of diverse, outspoken and boundary-pushing performers and filmmakers, representing the very best and most vital independent movies of the past 12 months. So without further adieu, let’s meet them:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
American Honey
PRODUCERS: Thomas Benski, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Lucas Ochoa, Pouya Shahbazian, Alice Weinberg
Chronic
PRODUCERS: Michel Franco, Gina Kwon, Gabriel Ripstein, Moisés Zonana
Jackie
PRODUCERS: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin, Ari Handel, Juan de Dios Larraín, Mickey Liddell
Manchester by the Sea
PRODUCERS: Lauren Beck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Kimberly Stewart, Kevin J. Walsh
Moonlight
PRODUCERS: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the producer and director)
The Childhood of a Leader
DIRECTOR: Brady Corbet
PRODUCERS: Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Chris Coen, Ron Curtis, Helena Danielsson, Mona Fastvold, István Major
The Fits
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Anna Rose Holmer
PRODUCER: Lisa Kjerulff
Other People
DIRECTOR: Chris Kelly
PRODUCERS: Sam Bisbee, Adam Scott, Naomi Scott
Swiss Army Man
DIRECTORS: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
PRODUCERS: Miranda Bailey, Lawrence Inglee, Lauren Mann, Amanda Marshall, Eyal Rimmon, Jonathan Wang
The Witch
DIRECTOR: Robert Eggers
PRODUCERS: Daniel Bekerman, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Jodi Redmond, Rodrigo Teixeira
BEST DIRECTOR
Andrea Arnold, American Honey
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Pablo Larraín, Jackie
Jeff Nichols, Loving
Kelly Reichardt, Certain Women
BEST SCREENPLAY
Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney (story by), Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Ira Sachs, 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
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000, given to the writer, director and producer)
Free In Deed
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jake Mahaffy
PRODUCERS: Mike Bowes, Mike S. Ryan, Brent Stiefel
Hunter Gatherer
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Josh Locy
PRODUCERS: Michael Covino, April Lamb, Sara Murphy, Isaiah Smallman
Lovesong
WRITER/DIRECTOR: So Yong Kim
WRITER/PRODUCER: Bradley Rust Gray
PRODUCERS: David Hansen, Alex Lipschultz, Johnny Mac
Nakom
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: T.W. Pittman
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Kelly Daniela Norris
WRITER/PRODUCER: Isaac Adakudugu
PRODUCER: Giovanni Ximėnez
Spa Night
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Andrew Ahn
PRODUCERS: David Ariniello, Giulia Caruso, Ki Jin Kim, Kelly Thomas
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 FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Sasha Lane, American Honey
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
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 SUPPORTING FEMALE
Edwina Findley, Free In Deed
Paulina Garcia, Little Men
Lily Gladstone, Certain Women
Riley Keough, American Honey
Molly Shannon, Other People
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, Nat Sanders, Moonlight
Jake Roberts, Hell or High Water
Sebastián Sepúlveda, Jackie
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Aquarius (Brazil)
DIRECTOR: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Chevalier (Greece)
DIRECTOR: Athina Tsangari
My Golden Days (France)
DIRECTOR: Arnaud Desplechin
Toni Erdmann (Germany/Romania)
DIRECTOR: Maren Ade
Under the Shadow (Iran/United Kingdom)
DIRECTOR: Babak Anvari
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
13th
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ava DuVernay
PRODUCERS: Spencer Averick, Howard Barish
Cameraperson
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Kirsten Johnson
PRODUCER: Marilyn Ness
I am Not Your Negro
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Raoul Peck
PRODUCERs: Rémi Grellety, Hébert Peck
O.J.: Made in America
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ezra Edelman
PRODUCERS: Nina Krstic, Tamara Rosenberg, Caroline Waterlow
Sonita
DIRECTOR: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami
PRODUCERS: Gerd Haag
Under the Sun
DIRECTOR: Vitaly Mansky
PRODUCER: Natalya Manskaya
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Award given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Moonlight
DIRECTOR: Barry Jenkins
CASTING DIRECTOR: Yesi Ramirez
ENSEMBLE CAST: Mahershala Ali, Patrick Decile, Naomie Harris, Alex Hibbert, André Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monáe, Jaden Piner, Trevante Thodes, Ashton Sanders
And for all of you visual learners out there, here’s the press conference in its entirety:
Want more? Here are some additional highlights from this morning, featuring Slate, Ramirez and Film Independent President Josh Welsh:
So! Now that we know who’ll be visiting us inside the big beach tent on February 25, it’s time for you to get involved and help vote to determine our winners.
Members of Film Independent who join by December 6 can help themselves to all that our awards-season Membership privileges have to offer, including screeners of select films and access to free theatrical screenings of all nominated films in New York and LA (and don’t worry if you miss the December deadline—screenings and voting are open to all new Members joining before January 13). Click here for more info. And for information on how to actually attend the festival, click here.
The 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards happen February 25 on the beach in Santa Monica and will be broadcast live on IFC at 2p/5e. Don’t miss them!
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up with all of the latest and greatest Spirit Awards news. Now: pull out the whiteboard and dry erase markers—it’s time to start contemplating that Spirit Awards ballot!