The 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films and television series of 2022, were presented by Film Independent on March 4, 2023. The film nominations were announced live via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on November 22, 2022 by

Raúl Castillo Raúl Castillo Jr. (born August 30, 1977) is an American actor and playwright. He is known for his acting roles in ''Amexicano'' and ''Cold Weather'' and his role as Richie Donado Ventura in the HBO series ''Looking'' and its subsequent series ...

and

Taylour Paige Taylour Dominique Paige-Angulo (born October 5, 1990) is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her role as Ahsha Hayes in the VH1 sports drama series '' Hit the Floor'', and has gained recognition for her performances in the fi ...

, while the television nominations were announced on December 13, 2022 by

Asia Kate Dillon Asia Kate Dillon (born November 15, 1984) is an American actor, best known for their roles as Brandy Epps in ''Orange Is the New Black'' and Taylor Mason in '' Billions''. Dillon identifies as non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. Their ...

. Like last year, the ceremony was separated from its previous longtime berth on the day before the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. Instead, there were eight days separating the ceremonies, with the

95th Academy Awards The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor films released in 2022, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 12, 2023. Comed ...

taking place on March 12, 2023. This ceremony occurred during the middle of final Oscar voting, taking place between March 2 and March 7, meaning the winners of this year's Independent Spirit Awards may have had an impact on Oscar voters. For the first time since

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, the ceremony wasn't broadcast live on the American

basic cable Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. with Data by SNL Kagan shows that about 58 ...

channel IFC but instead streamed live on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

's YouTube channel, as well as both Film Independent's YouTube channel and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. American comedian

Hasan Minhaj Hasan Minhaj ( ; born September 23, 1985) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host of Indian descent. His Netflix show ''Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj'' won two Peabody Awards and two Webby A ...

hosted the ceremony. The

A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...

absurdist

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

Everything Everywhere All at Once ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'' is a 2022 American absurdist comedy-drama film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as "Daniels"), who produced it with Anthony and Joe Russo. The plot centers on a ...

'' won a total of seven awards, including Best Feature, sweeping every category it was nominated for and winning the most awards for a single film in the history of the Independent Spirit Awards.

Changes

This year,

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...

categories were introduced. The organization has switched the traditionally separated male and female lead and supporting categories for film and television, and instead combined them with ten nominations each in two new categories: Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Performance. The same has become true for the television categories with Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series as well as the newly added award for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series. Additionally, a retired film category was re-introduced: Best Breakthrough Performance; it was discontinued in

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, but is limited to only five nominees. Film Independent has also increased the

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...

cap for eligible films to $30 million to account for the rising cost of production. Over the years, the budget cap has increased incrementally from $20 million in

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to $22.5 million in

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. The budget cap for the

Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after ac ...

, presented to a film's writer, director and producer, also increased from $500K to $1 million. In response to the continuing effects of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on filmmakers and the industry, Film Independent once again waived the theatrical run typically required for eligibility, ensuring more opportunities for independent filmmakers to be recognized and celebrated.

Winners and nominees

Film

Films with multiple nominations and awards

Television

Series with multiple nominations and awards

Special awards

John Cassavetes Award The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after ac ...

(The award is given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer) '' The Cathedral'' * ''The African Desperate'' * ''Holy Emy'' * '' A Love Song'' * ''

Something in the Dirt ''Something in the Dirt'' is a 2022 American science fiction comedy horror film directed by and starring Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Written by Benson, it is the fifth feature film by the directing duo. The film had its world premiere onl ...

Robert Altman Award The Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award is presented to the ensemble cast, director and casting director of a film by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after dire ...

(The award is given to one film's director, casting director, and ensemble cast) * '' Women Talking'' –

Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress,Howell, Peter (September 24, 1999)"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft she can thumb her nose at Hollywood" ''Tor ...

(director), John Buchan (casting director), Jason Knight (casting director), Shayla Brown,

Jessie Buckley Jessie Buckley (born 28 December 1989) is an Irish actress and singer. The recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and three BAFTA Awards, she was listed at number 38 on ''The Irish Times'' list of ...

Claire Foy Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett,

Judith Ivey Judith Lee Ivey (born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and theatre director. She has twice won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: for ''Steaming'' (1981) and ''Hurlyburly'' (1984). She has also appeared in several films ...

Rooney Mara Patricia Rooney Mara ( ; born April 17, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, ...

Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an AC ...

Frances McDormand Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and producer. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Em ...

, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil,

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

, and August Winter

Emerging Filmmakers Awards

Producers Award

The award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. * Tory Lenosky ** Liz Cardenas ** David Grove Churchill Viste

Someone to Watch Award The Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl's, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. History The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant. The award was first given at the 1994 a ...

The award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. *

Nikyatu Jusu Nikyatu Jusu () is an American independent writer, director, producer, editor and assistant professor in film and video at George Mason University. Jusu's works center on the complexities of Black female characters and in particular, displaced, i ...

– ''

Nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

'' ** Adamma Ebo – '' Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.'' ** Araceli Lemos – ''Holy Emy''

Truer than Fiction Award

The award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. * Reid Davenport – '' I Didn't See You There'' ** Isabel Castro – ''Mija'' ** Rebeca Huntt – ''Beba''

References

External links

*
Show Highlights , The 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards hosted by Hasan Minhaj
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Film Independent
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Opening Monolouge - Hasan Minhaj - 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards
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Film Independent
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{{IS Awards Chron I 2022 television awards Independent Spirit Awards 2023 awards in the United States