Last weekend, the Independent Spirit Awards – the “third of fourth most glamorous night in Hollywood,” as host Aidy Bryant put it – convened in a scrappy white tent in Santa Monica to honor the spirit of independence and individuality in the film industry.

Anora was the biggest winner, taking home three awards, including Best Director and Best Performance. A Real Pain was close behind, bringing in two Independent Spirit Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Performance.

Maisy Stella won the Best Breakthrough Performance for her part in MY Old Ass. Nickel Boys won the award for Best Cinematography and September 5 won for Best Editing.

Flow was named Best International Film while Didi won for Best First Feature. Didi‘s writer/director Sean Wang also won for Best First Screenplay. No Other Land was awarded Best Documentary and Girls Will Be Girls won the John Cassavetes Award, given to a feature film made for less than $1 million.

For television, Shogun was made Best New Scripted Series while Baby Reindeer wrangled a trio of awards – Best Lead Performance, Best Supporting Performance, and Best Breakthrough Performance. Hollywood Black won Best New Unscripted or Documentary Series.

The 40th Annual Independent Spirit Awards: Complete List Of Winners

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SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 22: Justin Simien accepts the Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series Award for “Hollywood Black” onstage during the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 22, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

Best Feature

Anora (WINNER)
Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan

I Saw the TV Glow
Producers: Ali Herting, Luca Intili, Dave McCary, Emma Stone, Sarah Winshall

Nickel Boys
Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine

Sing Sing
Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Monique Walton

The Substance
Producers: Tim Bevan, Coralie Fargeat, Eric Fellner

Best First Feature

Dìdi (WINNER)
Director/Producer: Sean Wang
Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters

In the Summers
Director: Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio
Producers: Janek Ambros, Lynette Coll, Alexander Dinelaris, Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz, Cristóbal Güell, Sergio Alberto Lira, Rob Quadrino, Jan Suter, Daniel Tantalean, Nando Vila, Slava Vladimirov, Stephanie Yankwitt

Janet Planet
Director/Producer: Annie Baker
Producers: Andrew Goldman, Dan Janvey, Derrick Tseng

The Piano Lesson
Director: Malcolm Washington
Producers: Todd Black, Denzel Washington

Problemista
Director/Producer: Julio Torres
Producers: Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emma Stone

John Cassavetes Award

Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000

Big Boys
Writer/Director/Producer: Corey Sherman
Producer: Allison Tate

Ghostlight
Writer/Director: Kelly O’Sullivan
Director/Producer: Alex Thompson
Producers: Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Chelsea Krant, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson

Girls Will Be Girls (WINNER)
Writer/Director/Producer: Shuchi Talati
Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne

Jazzy
Writer/Director/Producer: Morrisa Maltz
Writer/Producer: Lainey Shangreaux
Writers: Andrew Hajek, Vanara Taing
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Tommy Heitkamp, John Way, Natalie Whalen, Elliott Whitton

The People’s Joker
Writer/Director: Vera Drew
Writer: Bri LeRose
Producer: Joey Lyons

Best Director

Ali Abbasi
The Apprentice

Sean Baker (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
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 Wang (WINNER)
Dìdi

Best Lead Performance

Amy Adams
Nightbitch

Ryan Destiny
The Fire Inside

Colman Domingo
Sing Sing

Keith Kupferer
Ghostlight

Mikey Madison (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
My Old Ass

Best Cinematography

Dinh Duy Hung
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Jomo Fray (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
September 5

Arielle Zakowski
Dìdi

Robert Altman Award

His Three Daughters (WINNER)
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto
Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders

Best Documentary

Gaucho Gaucho
Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Producers: Christos Konstantakopoulos, Cameron O’Reilly, Matthew Perniciaro

Hummingbirds
Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
Co-Directors/Producers: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger
Producers: Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow

No Other Land (WINNER)
Directors/Producers: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning

Patrice: The Movie
Director: Ted Passon
Producers: Kyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily Spivack

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Director: Johan Grimonprez
Producers: Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius

Best International Film

All We Imagine as Light
France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg
Director: Payal Kapadia

Black Dog
China
Director: Guan Hu

Flow (WINNER)
Latvia, France, Belgium
Director: Gints Zilbalodis

Green Border
Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium
Director: Agnieszka Holland

Hard Truths
United Kingdom
Director: Mike Leigh

Producers Award 

The Producers Award, presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, now in its 28th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films.

Alex Coco
Sarah Winshall (WINNER)
Zoë Worth

Someone to Watch Award

The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 31st year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

Nicholas Colia
Director of Griffin in Summer

Sarah Friedland (WINNER)
Director of Familiar Touch

Pham Thien An
Director of Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Truer Than Fiction Award

The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 30th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
Directors of Sugarcane

Carla Gutiérrez
Director of Frida

Rachel Elizabeth Seed (WINNER)
Director of A Photographic Memory

Best New Nonscripted or Documentary Series

Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color
Executive Producers: Idris Elba, Johanna Woolford Gibbon, Jamilla Dumbuya, Jos Cushing, Khaled Gad, Matt Robins, Chris Muckle, Sean David Johnson, Simon Raikes
Co-Executive Producer: Annabel Hobley

Hollywood Black (WINNER)
Executive Producers: Shayla Harris, Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss, Jon Kamen, Justin Simien, Kyle Laursen, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jeffrey Schwarz, Amy Goodman Kass, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart
Co-Executive Producers: David C. Brown, Laurens Grant

Photographer
Executive Producers: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Pagan Harleman, Betsy Forhan
Co-Executive Producers: Anna Barnes, Brent Kunkle

Ren Faire
Executive Producers: Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Dani Bernfeld, Lance Oppenheim, David Gauvey Herbert, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Co-Executive Producers: Abigail Rowe, Christian Vasquez, Max Allman

Social Studies
Creator/Executive Producer: Lauren Greenfield
Executive Producers: Wallis Annenberg, Regina K. Scully, Andrea van Beuren, Frank Evers, Caryn Capotosto

Best New Scripted Series

Baby Reindeer
Creator/Executive Producer: Richard Gadd
Executive Producers: Wim De Greef, Petra Fried, Matt Jarvis, Ed Macdonald

Diarra From Detroit
Creator/Executive Producer: Diarra Kilpatrick
Executive Producers: Kenya Barris, Miles Orion Feldsott, Darren Goldberg
Co-Executive Producers: Ester Lou, Mark Ganek

English Teacher
Creator/Executive Producer: Brian Jordan Alvarez
Executive Producers: Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel, Dave King
Co-Executive Producers: Kathryn Dean, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn

Fantasmas
Creator/Executive Producer: Julio Torres
Executive Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Olivia Gerke, Alex Bach, Daniel Powell
Co-Executive Producer: Ali Herting

Shogun (WINNER)
Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
Executive Producers: Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell
Co-Executive Producers: Shannon Goss, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series

Brian Jordan Alvarez, English Teacher
Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer (WINNER)
Lily Gladstone, Under the Bridge
Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along
Cristin Milioti, The Penguin
Julianne Moore, Mary & George
Hiroyuki Sanada, Shogun
Anna Sawai, Shogun
Andrew Scott, Ripley
Julio Torres, Fantasmas

Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series

Tadanobu Asano, Shogun
Enrico Colantoni, English Teacher
Betty Gilpin, Three Women
Chloe Guidry, Under the Bridge
Moeka Hoshi, Shogun
Stephanie Koenig, English Teacher
Patti LuPone, Agatha All Along
Nava Mau, Baby Reindeer (WINNER)
Ruth Negga, Presumed Innocent
Brian Tee, Expats

Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series

Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer (WINNER)
Diarra Kilpatrick, Diarra From Detroit
Joe Locke, Agatha All Along
Megan Stott, Penelope
Hoa Xuande, The Sympathizer

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series

How to Die Alone (WINNER)
Ensemble Cast: Melissa DuPrey, Jaylee Hamidi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Arkie Kandola, Elle Lorraine, Michelle McLeod, Chris “CP” Powell, Conrad Ricamora, Natasha Rothwell, Jocko Sims