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The Independent Spirit Awards are unique in the awards-season landscape in that they are traditionally the first major award show to announce their nominees and then one of the last to present their winners (the Spirits are traditionally held the day before the Oscars, from under a tent on the beach in Santa Monica). And while a Spirit nomination isn’t a guarantee of Oscar love, those two awards have been trending a lot closer together in recent years. With the recent Oscar triumphs of 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, and Spotlight — all of which also won the Spirit Award for Best Feature — the Indie Spirits have been less an alternative to the Academy Awards than a preview of them.
This year’s set of nominations won’t entirely buck that trend — Oscar hopefuls Moonlight, Manchester By the Sea, and Jackie are all up for Best Feature — but with with major Oscar frontrunner La La Land ruled ineligible due to its budget, the Spirits have really made room for a set of nominees that feels more “indie” than it’s been in years.
Moonlight and American Honey lead all films with six nominations apiece, while Amazon Studios‘ Manchester By the Sea picked up five. Moonlight saw its acclaimed, sprawling cast recognized with the Robert Altman Award (which goes to a film’s director, casting director, and ensemble), while American Honey picked up nods for stars Shia LaBeouf, Sasha Lane, and Riley Keough, and Manchester got a pair of nods for Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges (though not for purported Supporting Actress contender Michelle Williams).
Oscar campaigns that were boosted by these nominations all seemed to coalesce around the Best Female Lead category, where Natalie Portman (Jackie), Annette Bening (20th Century Women), Isabelle Huppert (Elle), and Ruth Negga (Loving) were all recognized.
And if you’re looking to stream some award-worthy movies over Thanksgiving weekend, the Spirits have presented quite a playlist, with more than a dozen movies that are currently available to either stream or rent today, including the Netflix original 13th, Ava DuVernay’s documentary about mass incarceration, as well as the Netflix original film Barry, which tells the story of a young Barack Obama during his years attending Columbia University in New York City, which will be released on Netflix on December 13th.
When they’re doing what they’re supposed to, the Independent Spirit Awards can float up indie movies that may have otherwise been passed over for attention, like Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women, which got nominations for Best Director and Supporting Female for Lily Gladstone. And I bet you didn’t even realize there was a movie starring Robert Pattinson about the rise of a Hilter-esque fascist dictator! But now you can check out The Childhood of a Leader, thanks to its Best First Feature nomination.
All five nominees for Best First Feature — The Witch, Other People, Swiss Army Man, The Fits, and The Childhood of a Leader — are available to watch via streaming platforms today, along with international films (Chevalier; My Golden Days) and documentaries (O.J.: Made in America; Under the Sun), among others.
We’ve indicated all the films that are available to stream today in the list of nominees below. The Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out on Saturday, February 25th.
Best Feature
American Honey
Chronic
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director
Andrea Arnold (American Honey)
Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Pablo Larrain (Jackie)
Jeff Nichols (Loving)
Kelly Reichardt (Certain Women)
Best First Feature
The Childhood of a Leader [where to stream The Childhood of a Leader]
The Fits [where to stream The Fits]
Other People [where to stream Other People]
Swiss Army Man [where to stream Swiss Army Man]
The Witch [where to stream The Witch]
Best Male Lead
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
David Harewood (Free in Deed)
Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) [where to stream 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) [where to stream A Bigger Splash]
Ben Foster (Hell or High Water)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Shia LaBeouf (American Honey)
Craig Robinson (Morris from America) [where to stream 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 Screenplay
Hell or High Water
Little Men
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
20th Century Women
Best First Screenplay
Barry
Christine
Jean of the Joneses
Other People
The Witch
Best International Film
Aquarius
Chevalier [where to stream Chevalier]
My Golden Days [where to stream My Golden Days]
Toni Erdmann
Under the Shadow
Best Documentary Feature
13th [where to stream 13th]
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America [where to stream O.J.: Made in America]
Sonita
Under the Sun [where to stream Under the Sun]
Best Cinematography
American Honey
Childhood
Free in Deed
The Eyes of My Mother
Moonlight
Best Editing
Hell or High Water
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Swiss Army Man
Robert Altman Award
Moonlight
Truer Than Fiction Award
Kristi Jacobson (Solitary)
Sara Jordeno (Kiki)
Nanfu Wang (Hooligan Sparrow)
Someone to Watch Award
Andrew Ahn (Spa Night)
Claire Carre (Embers) [where to stream Embers]
Anna Rose Holmer (The Fits)
Ingrid Jungermann (Women Who Kill)
