“Zola,” a darkly comic look at a part-time stripper’s Florida trip gone horribly wrong, topped nominations for the 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards, picking up a leading seven nods.
But the film, which is based on a Twitter thread that went viral, faces fierce competition in the best feature category. It’s up against “The Novice,” a twisty thriller that scored five nominations, as well as “The Lost Daughter,” an adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel of the same name, which scored four nominations. Rounding out the feature film race are “A Chiara,” an Italian-language family drama, and “C’mon C’mon,” a warm-hearted look at an uncle’s relationship with his young nephew.
The nominations were announced Tuesday by Beanie Feldstein, Regina Hall and Naomi Watts. Returning in-person in 2022 after going virtual due to COVID in 2021, the awards highlight and celebrate movies that are, for the most part, produced and conceived outside of the Hollywood mainstream. In order to qualify, eligible films have to have budgets of less than $22.5 million. That prevents other awards contenders such as “Nightmare Alley” or “King Richard” from competing for Indie Spirits.
A24 was the most-honored indie studio, receiving 13 nominations in total in recognition of “The Humans,” “C’mon, C’mon” and “Zola.” Neon, the producer of “Pig” and “A Chiara,” and Netflix, which backed “The Lost Daughter” and “Passing,” were close behind with nine nominations apiece.
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In recent years, the Spirits have expanded and now recognizes television productions. This year’s best new scripted series race is between “Blindspotting,” a small-screen extension of the 2018 feature film, as well as the AIDS drama “It’s a Sin,” Barry Jenkins’ epic “The Underground Railroad,” the punk rock band sitcom “We Are Lady Parts,” and “Reservation Dogs,” a dramedy about four Indigenous teenagers.
In 2021, the Spirits awarded its best feature prize to “Nomadland,” which went on to score the Best Picture honor at the Oscars, but the choices between the Indie Spirits and the Academy often deviate. The Spirits have honored Oscar winners such as “Moonlight” with its top honors, but they have also handed best feature to “The Farewell” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” both of which failed to land best picture nominations at the Academy Awards.
At a time when major studios have been faulted for failing to make more movies about people of color and other underrepresented communities, the indie film world appears to have offered more opportunities to tell these stories. That was reflected in many of the films that were honored by the Indie Spirits, such as “Wild Indian,” a thriller about Anishinaabe man who is grappling with a history of violence, or “Passing,” a drama about an African-American woman in the 1920s who passes as white. Of the nominated writers and directors, 44% are women and 38% are BIPOC. Of all nominated actors, 60% are BIPOC. And of all 2022 nominees, 46% are women and 32% are BIPOC.
There were some notable omissions from the list of nominees. “The Lost Daughter” resonated with the Spirits voters, but its star Olivia Colman failed to land a lead actress nomination. Tessa Thompson was also overlooked for her acclaimed turn in “Passing,” as was Joaquin Phoenix, who forms the beating heart of “C’mon C’mon.”
Winners are selected by members of Film Independent. The Spirit Awards will air on IFC on Sunday, Mar. 6, 2022.
Here is the full list of Spirit nominees
Best Feature
“A Chiara”
“C’mon C’mon”
“The Lost Daughter”
“The Novice”
“Zola”
Best Director
Janicza Bravo, “Zola”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”
Lauren Hadaway, “The Novice”
Mike Mills, “C’mon C’mon”
Ninja Thyberg, “Pleasure”
Best Male Lead
Clifton Collins Jr., “Jockey”
Frankie Faison, “Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Michael Greyeyes, “Wild Indian”
Udo Kier, “Swan Song”
Simon Rex, “Red Rocket”
Best Female Lead
Isabelle Fuhrman, “The Novice”
Brittany S. Hall, “Test Pattern”
Patti Harrison, “Together Together”
Taylour Paige, “Zola”
Kali Reis, “Catch the Fair One”
Best Supporting Female
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Amy Forsyth, “The Novice”
Ruth Negga, “Passing”
Revika Reustle, “Pleasure”
Suzanna Son, “Red Rocket”
Best Supporting Male
Colman Domingo, “Zola”
Meeko Gattuso, “Queen of Glory”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
Will Patton, “Sweet Thing”
Chaske Spencer, “Wild Indian”
Best Screenplay
Nikole Beckwith, “Together Together”
Janicza Bravo, Jeremy O. Harris, “Zola”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”
Mike Mills, “C’mon C’mon”
Todd Stephens, “Swan Song”
Best First Screenplay
Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr., “Wild Indian ”
Matt Fifer; Story by Sheldon D. Brown, “Cicada”
Shatara Michelle Ford, “Test Pattern ”
Fran Kranz, “Mass”
Michael Sarnoski; Story by Vanessa Block, Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”
Best First Feature
“7 Days”
“Holler”
“Queen of Glory”
“Test Pattern”
“Wild Indian”
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
“Cryptozoo”
“Jockey”
“Shiva Baby”
“Sweet Thing”
“This is Not a War Story”
Best Cinematography
“A Chiara”
“Blue Bayou”
“The Humans”
“Passing”
“Zola”
Best Documentary
“Ascension”
“Flee”
“In The Same Breath”
“Procession”
“Summer of Soul”
Best Editing
“A Chiara”
“The Nowhere Inn”
“The Novice”
“Zola”
“The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
“Mass”
Best International Film
“Compartment No. 6”
“Drive My Car”
“Parallel Mothers”
“Pebbles”
“Petite Maman”
“Prayers for the Stolen”
Producers Award (Honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.)
Brad Becker-Parton
Pin-Chun Liu
Lizzie Shapiro
Someone to Watch Award
Alex Camilleri, “Luzzu”
Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”
Gillian Wallace Horvat, “I Blame Society”
“The Truer Than Fiction Award” (Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.)
Angelo Madsen Minax, “North By Current”
Jessica Beshir, “Faya Dayi”
Debbie Lum, “Try Harder!”
TELEVISION CATEGORIES
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Black and Missing”
“The Choe Show”
“The Lady and The Dale”
“Nuclear Family”
“Philly D.A.”
Best New Scripted Series
“Blindspotting”
“It’s a Sin”
“Reservation Dogs”
“The Underground Railroad”
“We Are Lady Parts”
Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series
Thuso Mbedu, “The Underground Railroad”
Anjana Vasan, “We Are Lady Parts”
Jana Schmieding, “Rutherford Falls”
Jasmine Cephas Jones, “Blindspotting”
Deborah Ayorinde, “THEM: Covenant”
Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series
Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game”
Olly Alexander, “It’s a Sin”
Michael Greyeyes, “Rutherford Falls”
Murray Bartlett, “The White Lotus”
Ashley Thomas, “THEM: Covenant”
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“Reservation Dogs”
