Spirit Awards Shine a Light Towards Hollywood’s Future

In mere moments, people will gather out at the big tent in Santa Monica to attend the Spirit Awards. Unlike the Oscars, the Spirits aren’t locked into the commerce of the Hollywood machine, and they’re not mired in tradition. They are a fluid, present group of voters whose choices do seem to reflect the quickly evolving landscape of film. Where the Oscars are really about hunting down movies “they” will like, the Spirits aren’t. The choices come about based on what these voters found compelling in a given year. For instance, there are actually women directors nominated.

It is expected that Moonlight will likely take at least Best Picture – maybe Best Director – maybe it will sweep. But either way, here are the nominees and we’ll be reporting on the winners as they go. Make sure to follow Jazz (@jazzt) who will be attending.

BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

American Honey – Producers: Thomas Benski, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Lucas Ochoa, Pouya Shahbazian, Alice Weinberg
Chronic – Producers: Michel Franco, Gina Kwon, Gabriel Ripstein, Moisés Zonana
Jackie – Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin, Ari Handel, Juan de Dios Larraín, Mickey Liddell
Manchester by the Sea – Producers: Lauren Beck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Kimberly Steward, Kevin J. Walsh
Moonlight – Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)

The Childhood of a Leader – Director: Brady Corbet, Producers: Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Chris Coen, Ron Curtis, Helena Danielsson, Mona Fastvold, István Major
The Fits – Director/Producer: Anna Rose Holmer, Producer: Lisa Kjerulff
Other People – Director: Chris Kelly, Producers: Sam Bisbee, Adam Scott, Naomi Scott
Swiss Army Man – Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Producers: Miranda Bailey, Lawrence Inglee, Lauren Mann, Amanda Marshall, Eyal Rimmon, Jonathan Wang
The Witch – Director: Robert Eggers, Producers: Daniel Bekerman, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Jodi Redmond, Rodrigo Teixeira
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.

Free In Deed – Writer/Director: Jake Mahaffy, Producers: Mike Bowes, Mike S. Ryan, Brent Stiefel
Hunter Gatherer – Writer/Director: Josh Locy, Producers: Michael Covino, April Lamb, Sara Murphy, Isaiah Smallman
Lovesong – Writer/Director: So Yong Kim, Writer/Producer: Bradley Rust Gray, Producers: David Hansen, Alex Lipschultz, Johnny Mac
Nakom – Writer/Director/Producer: TW Pittman, Director/Producer: Kelly Daniela Norris, Writer/Producer: Isaac Adakudugu, Producer: Giovanni Ximénez
Spa Night – Writer/Director: Andrew Ahn, Producers: David Ariniello, Giulia Caruso, Ki Jin Kim, Kelly Thomas
BEST DIRECTOR

Andrea Arnold, American Honey
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Pablo Larraín, Jackie
Jeff Nichols, Loving
Kelly Reichardt, Certain Women
BEST FEMALE LEAD

Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Sasha Lane, American Honey
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
BEST MALE LEAD

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
David Harewood, Free In Deed
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Jesse Plemons, Other People
Tim Roth, Chronic
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Edwina Findley, Free In Deed
Paulina Garcia, Little Men
Lily Gladstone, Certain Women
Riley Keough, American Honey
Molly Shannon, Other People
BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Ralph Fiennes, A Bigger Splash
Ben Foster, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Shia LaBeouf, American Honey
Craig Robinson, Morris from America
BEST SCREENPLAY

Barry Jenkins, Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, Little Men
Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Robert Eggers, The Witch
Chris Kelly, Other People
Adam Mansbach, Barry
Stella Meghie, Jean of the Joneses
Craig Shilowich, Christine
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Ava Berkofsky, Free In Deed
Lol Crawley, The Childhood of a Leader
Zach Kuperstein, The Eyes of My Mother
James Laxton, Moonlight
Robbie Ryan, American Honey
BEST EDITING

Matthew Hannam, Swiss Army Man
Jennifer Lame, Manchester by the Sea
Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders, Moonlight
Jake Roberts, Hell or High Water
Sebastián Sepúlveda, Jackie
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)

Moonlight
Director: Barry Jenkins
Casting Director: Yesi Ramirez
Ensemble Cast: Mahershala Ali, Patrick Decile, Naomie Harris, Alex Hibbert, André Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monáe, Jaden Piner, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

13th, Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay, Producers: Spencer Averick, Howard Barish
Cameraperson, Director/Producer: Kirsten Johnson, Producer: Marilyn Ness
I Am Not Your Negro, Director/Producer: Raoul Peck, Producers: Rémi Grellety, Hérbert Peck
O.J.: Made in America, Director/Producer: Ezra Edelman, Producers: Nina Krstic, Tamara Rosenberg, Caroline Waterlow
Sonita, Director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, Producer: Gerd Haag
Under the Sun, Director: Vitaly Mansky, Producer: Natalya Manskaya
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

Aquarius (Brazil) Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Chevalier (Greece) Director: Athina Tsangari
My Golden Days (France) Director: Arnaud Desplechin
Toni Erdmann (Germany and Romania) Director: Maren Ade
Under the Shadow (Iran and U.K.) Director: Babak Anvari
20th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 20th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Lisa Kjerulff
Jordana Mollick
Melody C. Roscher & Craig Shilowich
23rd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 23rd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.

Andrew Ahn, Director of Spa Night
Claire Carré, Director of Embers
Anna Rose Holmer, Director of The Fits
Ingrid Jungermann, Director of Women Who Kill
22nd TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 22nd annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Kristi Jacobson, Director of Solitary
Sara Jordenö, Director of Kiki
Nanfu Wang, Director of Hooligan Sparrow