Oscar hopefuls like Mikey Madison, Demi Moore, and Sebastian Stan will be gracing the beach this Saturday for the Film Independent Spirit Awards. This yearly event serves as a more relaxed and unconventional counterpart to the Academy Awards, acknowledging outstanding achievements in independent cinema and television.
**What are the Independent Spirit Awards?**
The Film Independent Spirit Awards, often endearingly dubbed the Indie Spirits, have been honoring the finest in independent film for four decades. Originally, this ceremony, organized by the nonprofit Film Independent, took place just a day before the Oscars. However, it has recently changed its scheduling, stepping away from overlapping with that busy weekend.
The voting process for the awards involves Film Independent Members, which consist of filmmakers, industry figures, and avid fans. To maintain a focus on independent work, eligibility is restricted to projects with budgets of $30 million or less, which disqualifies larger productions such as “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two.” Television categories were introduced in 2021 to broaden the scope of the awards.
**When and where are the Spirit Awards?**
This year, the Spirit Awards will take place on Saturday in Santa Monica, California, under a tent adjacent to the beach. The ceremony is set to begin at 5 p.m. ET.
**How to watch the Spirit Awards**
Viewers can catch the Spirit Awards live via streaming on IMDb and Film Independent’s YouTube channels.
**Who’s hosting?**
Aidy Bryant, a former cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” will return as the host for the second consecutive year. Last year, she lightheartedly referred to the event as the “bisexual Oscars.”
**Who are the top nominees?**
Leading the nominations with six nods is the Academy Award contender “Anora,” alongside Jane Schoenbrun’s unsettling psychological horror “I Saw the TV Glow.” Both films are nominated for best feature and best director among other categories.
Other contenders for best feature include RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s “Nickel Boys,” Greg Kwedar’s prison drama “Sing Sing,” and Coralie Fargeat’s body horror narrative “The Substance.”
In a distinctive approach, the acting categories at the Spirit Awards are gender-neutral, featuring ten nominees in each category. The lead actor nominees include Amy Adams (“Nightbitch”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Demi Moore (“The Substance”), Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”), June Squibb (“Thelma”), Hunter Schafer (“Cuckoo”), Keith Kupferer (“Ghostlight”), Ryan Destiny (“The Fire Inside”), and Justice Smith (“I Saw the TV Glow”).
Supporting acting nominees consist of Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”), Carol Kane (“Between the Temples”), Clarence Maclin (“Sing Sing”), Adam Pearson (“A Different Man”), Joan Chen (“Dìdi”), Danielle Deadwyler (“The Piano Lesson”), Jack Haven (“I Saw the TV Glow”), Kani Kusruti (“Girls Will Be Girls”), Yura Borisov (“Anora”), and Karren Karagulian (“Anora”).
The Spirit Awards also celebrate new fiction and nonfiction television series, with nominees including the Netflix hit “Baby Reindeer,” “Sh?gun,” and “Ren Fair.”
**How will it impact the Oscars?**
It is important to note that the Spirit Awards winners will not influence the Oscars, as the voting period closed earlier this week. In some instances, the Spirit Awards have shown significant alignment with the Oscar winners, as witnessed during the award-winning year of “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” Conversely, there are years when the overlap is minimal; for instance, last year’s standout film “Oppenheimer” did not qualify due to its budget constraints, while the main Spirit Awards winners were “Past Lives” and “American Fiction.”
