Independent Spirit Awards 2026: The Nominees Are In — See Who Made the Cut

Awards season isn’t just tuxes and three-hour telecasts. The Independents get their night too, and the Spirit Awards are where a lot of the coolest festival hits actually get a spotlight. This year comes with a change of scenery: after four decades of flapping canvas on a Santa Monica beach, the Spirits are moving indoors to the Hollywood Palladium. I’ll allow it.

When and where

The 2026 Independent Spirit Awards happen February 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium.

The vibe this year

The slate is stacked with titles that have been buzzing on the circuit: 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You', 'Sorry, Baby', 'Twinless', 'Train Dreams' and plenty more. The nominations just dropped, and if they tweak anything between now and showtime, I’ll update — but here’s the lineup as it stands.

The nominees

• Best Feature (award goes to the producer): 'Peter Hujar's Day' — Producers: Jonah Disend, Jordan Drake; 'The Plague' — Producers: Derek Dauchy, Joel Edgerton, Roy Lee, Lucy McKendrick, Steven Schneider, Lizzie Shapiro; 'Sorry, Baby' — Producers: Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski; 'Train Dreams' — Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman; 'Twinless' — Producers: David Permut, James Sweeney
• Best First Feature (award goes to the director and producer): 'Blue Sun Palace' — Director: Constance Tsang; Producers: Sally Sujin Oh, Eli Raskin, Tony Yang; 'Dust Bunny' — Director/Producer: Bryan Fuller; Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee; 'East of Wall' — Director/Producer: Kate Beecroft; Producers: Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, Lila Yacoub; 'Lurker' — Director: Alex Russell; Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D'Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby; 'One of Them Days' — Director: Lawrence Lamont; Producers: Deniese Davis, Poppy Hanks, James Lopez, Issa Rae, Sara Rastogi
• John Cassavetes Award (feature made for under $1,000,000; award goes to the writer, director, and producer): 'The Baltimorons' — Director/Writer/Producer: Jay Duplass; Writer/Producer: Michael Strassner; Producers: David Bonnett Jr., Drew Langer; 'Boys Go to Jupiter' — Director/Writer: Julian Glander; 'Eephus' — Director/Writer/Producer: Carson Lund; Writer/Producer: Michael Basta; Writer: Nate Fisher; Producers: David Entin, Tyler Taormina; 'Esta Isla (This Island)' — Directors/Writers/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina; Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos; 'Familiar Touch' — Director/Writer/Producer: Sarah Friedland; Producers: Alexandra Byer, Matthew Thurm
• Best Director: Clint Bentley — 'Train Dreams'; Mary Bronstein — 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You'; Lloyd Lee Choi — 'Lucky Lu'; Ira Sachs — 'Peter Hujar's Day'; Eva Victor — 'Sorry, Baby'
• Best Screenplay: Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin — 'Splitsville'; Angus MacLachlan — 'A Little Prayer'; James Sweeney — 'Twinless'; Christian Swegal — 'Sovereign'; Eva Victor — 'Sorry, Baby'
• Best First Screenplay: Andrew DeYoung — 'Friendship'; Elena Oxman — 'Outerlands'; Alex Russell — 'Lurker'; Syreeta Singleton — 'One of Them Days'; Constance Tsang — 'Blue Sun Palace'
• Best Lead Performance: Everett Blunck — 'The Plague'; Rose Byrne — 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You'; Kathleen Chalfant — 'Familiar Touch'; Chang Chen — 'Lucky Lu'; Joel Edgerton — 'Train Dreams'; Dylan O'Brien — 'Twinless'; Keke Palmer — 'One of Them Days'; Théodore Pellerin — 'Lurker'; Tessa Thompson — 'Hedda'; Ben Whishaw — 'Peter Hujar's Day'
• Best Supporting Performance: Naomi Ackie — 'Sorry, Baby'; Zoey Deutch — 'Nouvelle Vague'; Kirsten Dunst — 'Roofman'; Rebecca Hall — 'Peter Hujar's Day'; Nina Hoss — 'Hedda'; Jane Levy — 'A Little Prayer'; Archie Madekwe — 'Lurker'; Kali Reis — 'Rebuilding'; Jacob Tremblay — 'Sovereign'; Haipeng Xu — 'Blue Sun Palace'
• Best Breakthrough Performance: Liz Larsen — 'The Baltimorons'; Misha Osherovich — 'She's the He'; Kayo Martin — 'The Plague'; SZA — 'One of Them Days'; Tabatha Zimiga — 'East of Wall'
• Robert Altman Award (one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast): 'The Long Walk' — Director: Francis Lawrence; Casting Director: Rich Delia; Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing; Executive Producers: Garry Campbell, Anya Adams, Susan Coyne, Miranda de Pencier; Co-Executive Producers: Teresa M. Ho, Michael Goldbach, Kathryn Borel Jr., JP Larocque
• Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series: Sydney Chandler — 'Alien: Earth'; Stephen Graham — 'Adolescence'; Ethan Hawke — 'The Lowdown'; Lennie James — 'Mr Loverman'; Anna Lambe — 'North of North'; Lola Petticrew — 'Say Nothing'; Seth Rogen — 'The Studio'; Lovie Simone — 'Forever'; Michelle Williams — 'Dying for Sex'; Noah Wyle — 'The Pitt'
• Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series: Ariyon Bakare — 'Mr Loverman'; Babou Ceesay — 'Alien: Earth'; Sharon D. Clarke — 'Mr Loverman'; Taylor Dearden — 'The Pitt'; Erin Doherty — 'Adolescence'; Stephen McKinley Henderson — 'A Man on the Inside'; Poorna Jagannathan — 'Deli Boys'; Xosha Roquemore — 'Forever'; Jenny Slate — 'Dying for Sex'; Ben Whishaw — 'Black Doves'
• Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series: Asif Ali — 'Deli Boys'; Wally Baram — 'Overcompensating'; Owen Cooper — 'Adolescence'; Michael Cooper Jr. — 'Forever'; Ernest Kingsley Junior — 'Washington Black'

A few notes while you catch your breath

Yes, TV is still part of the Spirits mix, and yes, that is both Ben Whishaw and Ben Whishaw in different categories. Also worth clocking: Mary Bronstein and Rose Byrne got matching love for 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You', and 'Sorry, Baby' pops up across feature, director, screenplay, and acting. The Cassavetes lineup is especially scrappy this year — true shoestrings.

Bottom line: if you like discovering the movies and series everyone else will pretend they always knew about six months from now, this is your list.