2025 Independent Spirit Awards: Full Winners List

The 40th annual Independent Spirit Awards took place in Santa Monica on Feb. 22, with Aidy Bryant as host.

“Anora” and “I Saw the TV Glow” were the most-nominated films going into the ceremony, while “Shogun” was the most nominated TV series.

See the full list of winners below.

BEST FEATURE

Anora

I Saw the TV Glow

Nickel Boys

Sing Sing

The Substance

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Dìdi (WINNER)

In the Summers

Janet Planet

The Piano Lesson

Problemista

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1 million 

Big Boys

Ghostlight

Girls Will Be Girls

Jazzy

The People’s Joker

BEST DIRECTOR 

Ali Abbasi — The Apprentice

Sean Baker — 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 — 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 — Dìdi

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Amy Adams — Nightbitch

Ryan Destiny — The Fire Inside

Colman Domingo — Sing Sing

Keith Kupferer — Ghostlight

Mikey Madison — 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 — 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 — My Old Ass (WINNER)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Dinh Duy Hung — Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Jomo Fray — Nickel Boys

Maria von Hausswolff — Janet Planet

Juan Pablo Ramírez — La Cocina

Rina Yan — The Fire Inside

BEST EDITING 

Laura Colwell, Vanara Taing

Jazzy

Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm

The Apprentice

Anne McCabe

Nightbitch

Hansjörg Weissbrich

September 5

Arielle Zakowski

Dìdi

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast 

His Three Daughters

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 (Award given to the director and producer) 

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 (Award given to the director) 

All We Imagine as Light

France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg

Director: Payal Kapadia

Black Dog

China

Director: Guan Hu

Flow

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, 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

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

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

Director of A Photographic Memory

BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color

Hollywood Black

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 (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

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

Shōgun

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

Lily Gladstone

Under the Bridge

Kathryn Hahn

Agatha All Along

Cristin Milioti

The Penguin

Julianne Moore

Mary & George

Hiroyuki Sanada

Shōgun

Anna Sawai

Shōgun

Andrew Scott

Ripley

Julio Torres

Fantasmas

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

Tadanobu Asano — Shōgun

Enrico Colantoni — English Teacher

Betty Gilpin — Three Women

Chloe Guidry — Under the Bridge

Moeka Hoshi — Shōgun

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

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