Here are the 2019 Indie Spirit Award nominations!  These nominations are meant to honor the best independent films of 2019 and their announcement marks the official beginning of awards season (at least as far as this sight is concerned!)  I hate to say it but I still need to see quite a few of the films nominated below so, for now, I’ll hold off on any editorial commentary.

For those looking for some sort of evidence of how the Oscar nominations can go, the Independent Spirit Awards can be an iffy precursor, just because several of the expensive, major studio contenders aren’t eligible to nominated.  (For instance, neither The Irishman nor Once Upon A Time In Hollywood were eligible.)  That said, for the record, the two biggest Spirit nominees are The Lighthouse and Uncut Gems.  Waves and The Farewell, which have been the center of considerable Oscar speculation, did not do as strongly in the nominations as many people apparently expected.  Make of that what you will!

Here are the nominees!

Best Supporting Female

• Jennifer Lopez – HUSTLERS
• Taylor Russell – WAVES
• Zhao Shuzhen – THE FAREWELL
• Lauren “Lolo” Spencer – GIVE ME LIBERTY
• Octavia Spencer – LUCE

• Best Supporting Male
• Willem Dafoe – THE LIGHTHOUSE
• Noah Jupe – HONEY BOY
• Shia Labeouf – HONEY BOY
• Jonathan Majors – THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO
• Wendell Pierce – BURNING CANE

Best Screenplay

• Noah Baumbach – MARRIAGE STORY
• Jason Begue, Shawn Snyder – TO DUST
• Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – UNCUT GEMS
• Chinonye Chukwu – CLEMENCY
• Tarell Alvin Mccraney – HIGH FLYING BIRD

Best First Screenplay

• Fredrica Bailey, Stefon Bristol – SEE YOU YESTERDAY
• Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen – DRIVEWAYS
• Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy – BLOW THE MAN DOWN
• Jocelyn Deboer, Dawn Luebbe – GREENER GRASS
• James Montague, Craig W. Sanger – THE VAST OF NIGHT

Best Cinematography

• Todd Banhazl – HUSTLERS
• Jarin Blaschke – THE LIGHTHOUSE
• Natasha Braier – HONEY BOY
• Chananun Chotrungroj – THE THIRD WIFE
• Pawel Pogorzelski – MIDSOMMAR

Best Editing

• Julie Béziau – THE THIRD WIFE
• Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie – UNCUT GEMS
• Tyler L. Cook – SWORD OF TRUST
• Louise Ford – THE LIGHTHOUSE
• Kirill Mikhanovsky – GIVE ME LIBERTY

Best International Film

• INVISIBLE LIFE, Brazil
• LES MISERABLES, France
• PARASITE, South Korea
• PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, France
• RETABLO, Peru
• THE SOUVENIR, United Kingdom

Best Documentary (Award given to the director and producer)

• AMERICAN FACTORY
• APOLLO 11
• FOR SAMA
• HONEYLAND
• ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS

The John Cassavetes Award is presented to the best feature made for under $500,000 and is given to the writer, director, and producer. 2020 #SpiritAwards Nominees are:

• BURNING CANE
• COLEWELL
• GIVE ME LIBERTY
• PREMATURE
• WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY

Best Female Lead

• Karen Allen – COLEWELL
• Hong Chau – DRIVEWAYS
• Elisabeth Moss – HER SMELL
• Mary Kay Place – DIANE
• Alfre Woodard – CLEMENCY
• Renée Zellweger – JUDY

Best Male Lead 

• Chris Galust – GIVE ME LIBERTY
• Kelvin Harrison  Jr., – LUCE
• Robert Pattinson – THE LIGHTHOUSE
• Adam Sandler – UNCUT GEMS
• Matthias Schoenaerts – THE MUSTANG

Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer)

• BOOKSMART
• THE CLIMB
• DIANE
• THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO
• THE MUSTANG
• SEE YOU YESTERDAY

Best Feature [award given to the producer(s)]

• A HIDDEN LIFE
• CLEMENCY
• THE FAREWELL
• MARRIAGE STORY
• UNCUT GEMS

Best Director

• Robert Eggers – THE LIGHTHOUSE
• Alma Har’el – HONEY BOY
• Julius Onah – LUCE
• Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – UNCUT GEMS
• Lorene Scafaria – HUSTLERS

The Robert Altman Award is given to the ensemble cast, director & casting director of one film: MARRIAGE STORY – Noah Baumbach, Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler, Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever

The Truer Than Fiction Award, in its 25th year, is for emerging directors of non-fiction features and includes an unrestricted grant. Finalists:
Khalik Allah – BLACK MOTHER
Davy Rothbart – 17 BLOCKS
Nadia Shihab – JADDOLAND
Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside – AMÉRICA

The Producers Award, now in its 23rd year, honors emerging producers who demonstrate creativity, tenacity and vision, despite highly limited resources. The award includes an unrestricted grant. These are the finalists:
Mollye Asher
Krista Parris
Ryan Zacarias

The Someone To Watch Award, in its 26th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision and includes an unrestricted grant. The finalists are:
Rashaad Ernesto Green – PREMATURE
Ash Mayfair – THE THIRD WIFE
Joe Talbot – THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

The Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant. The 2020 Film Independent #SpiritAwards Bonnie Award finalists are:
MarielleHeller
KellyReichardt
LuluWang