Back to selection
American Honey, Moonlight, Free in Deed Score as 2017 Independent Spirit Awards are Announced
Moonlight Jenny Slate and Edgar Ramirez unveiled the nominations for the 2017 Independent Spirit Awards today at Los Angeles’s W Hollywood Hotel. As always, many of the most heralded independent films of the year scored multiple nominations, including Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, Pablo Larrain’s Jackie and Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea. All these pictures were nominated for Best Picture as well as receiving nominations in several other categories. But one film that has yet to receive distribution in the States — Free in Deed, by 25 New Face Jake Mahaffy — also received many nods, including Best Male Lead, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography and a nomination for the Cassavetes Award. Another surprise was the multiple nominations given to Michel Franco’s dark drama, Chronic (Best Feature, Best Male Lead). The Tim Roth-starring film grossed less than $10,000 in release this Fall from Monument Releasing.
The Spirit Awards have a number of awards given to emerging filmmakers that are always worthy of highlighting. This year’s documentary Truer than Fiction features films by three female filmmakers; the Piaget Producers Award nominees include The Fits producer Lisa Kjerulff, who graced our Spring issue cover; and the 23rd Annual Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award featured Kjerulff’ cover partner, Ana Rose Holmer, as well as IFP Narrative Lab filmmaker Claire Carre.
A complete list of Spirit Award nominees follows, with more coverage to come in the months ahead.
Best Feature:
American Honey
Chronic
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director:
Andrea Arnold, American Honey
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Pablo Larraín, Jackie
Jeff Nichols, Loving
Kelly Reichardt, Certain Women
Best First Feature:
The Childhood of a Leader
The Fits
Other People
Swiss Army Man
The Witch
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 Female Lead:
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Sasha Lane, American Honey
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Best Supporting Female:
Edwina Findley, Free In Deed
Paulina García, 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 and Tarell Alvin McCraney, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias, Little Women
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 and Nat Sanders, Moonlight
Jake Roberts, Hell or High Water
Sebastián Sepúlveda, Jackie
John Cassavetes Award:
Free In Deed
Hunter Gatherer
Lovesong
Nakom
Spa Night
Robert Altman Award:
Moonlight
Best Documentary:
13th
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America
Sonita
Under the Sun
Best International Film:
Aquarius (Brazil)
Chevalier (Greece)
My Golden Days (France)
Toni Erdmann (Germany and Romania)
Under the Shadow (Iran and U.K.)
Piaget Producers Award:
Lisa Kjerulff
Jordana Mollick
Melody C. Roscher & Craig Shilowich
23rd Annual Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award:
Andrew Ahn, Spa Night
Claire Carré, Embers
Anna Rose Holmer, The Fits
Ingrid Jungermann, Women Who Kill
22nd Truer Than Fiction Award:
Kristi Jacobson, Solitary
Sara Jordenö, Kiki
Nanfu Wang, Hooligan Sparrow
