The latest stop in the run-up to the Oscars is the Independent Spirit Awards, which will be held Sunday, March 6, in Santa Monica. The outdoor ceremony, which honors the best work done in the independent film world in 2021, is being hosted by married couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman. And though you may not be able to join the ceremony on the beach, there are plenty of ways to watch the show from home. The 37th Independent Spirit Awards will air live on Sunday, March 6 on IFC, with the broadcast beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. The event this year remains an early afternoon affair on the beach — and well ahead of the Oscars, which it usually precedes by a mere day. Indie film lovers without cable can watch IFC live on the following services, several of which offer free trials: Philo, fuboTV, Sling TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV, and the IFC app. For those who prefer to stream the show, the ceremony will also be available on AMC+, which has exclusive streaming rights this year.
Expected to win big in Santa Monica is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Netflix feature “The Lost Daughter,” up for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Female for Jessie Buckley. Simon Rex should also expect to take Best Male Lead for “Red Rocket,” with Taylour Paige leading the pack for Best Female Lead for “Zola,” plus supporting actors Troy Kodsur (“CODA”) and Ruth Negga (“Passing”). See IndieWire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson’s full Spirit Awards predictions here. Last year’s Independent Spirit Awards had quite a bit of overlap with the Oscars, as indie films including “Nomadland,” “Minari,” and “Promising Young Woman” dominated both events. “Nomadland” won both Best Feature and Best Director at the Independent Spirit Awards before going on to win the equivalent categories at the Oscars. This year, more studio films are nominated for the top categories at the Oscars, inevitably rendering the Independent Spirit Awards less mainstream. But there is plenty of top-notch indie film work to honor, with films like “The Lost Daughter,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Zola” dominating nominations. A24 has the most nominations of any distributor with 13 nods, followed by Netflix with nine and IFC Films with eight. On the television side, there was much more overlap with the Emmy Awards, as notable shows including “Squid Game,” “The White Lotus,” “Blindspotting,” and “Reservation Dogs” picked up nominations. Last year’s big television winner was Netflix’s “Unorthodox,” which took home all three acting trophies in the TV categories. Here’s the full list of the nominations. Best Feature “A Chiara” “C’mon C’mon” “The Lost Daughter” “The Novice” “Zola” Best Director Janicza Bravo, “Zola” Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter” Lauren Hadaway, “The Novice” Mike Mills, “C’mon, C’mon” Ninja Thyberg, “Pleasure”
Best First Feature “7 Days” “Holler” “Queen of Glory” “Test Pattern” “Wild Indian” Best Female Lead Isabelle Fuhrman, “The Novice” Brittany S. Hall, “Test Pattern” Patti Harrison, “Together Together” Taylour Paige, “Zola” Kali Reis, “Catch the Fair One” Best Male Lead Clifton Collins, Jr., “Jockey” Frankie Faison, “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain” Michael Greyeyes, “Wild Indian” Udo Kier, “Swan Song” Simon Rex, “Red Rocket” Best Supporting Female Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter” Amy Forsyth, “The Novice” Ruth Negga, “Passing” Revika Anne Reustle, “Pleasure” Suzanna Son, “Red Rocket” Best Supporting Male Colman Domingo, “Zola” Meeko Gattuso, “Queen of Glory” Troy Kotsur, “CODA” Will Patton, “Sweet Thing” Chaske Spencer, “Wild Indian” Best Screenplay “C’mon, C’mon” “The Lost Daughter” “Swan Song” “Together Together” “Zola” Best First Screenplay “Cicada” “Mass” “Pig” “Test Pattern” “Wild Indian” Best Cinematography “A Chiara” “Blue Bayou” “The Humans” “Passing” “Zola” Best Editing “A Chiara” “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain” “The Novice” “The Nowhere Inn” “Zola” Robert Altman Award The Director, Cast, and Casting Director of “Mass” Best Documentary “Ascension” “Flee” “In the Same Breath” “Procession” “Summer of Soul” Best International Film “Compartment No. 6” “Drive My Car” “Parallel Mothers” “Pebbles” “Petite Maman” “Prayers for the Stolen” Someone to Watch Award Alex Camilleri, “Luzzu” Gillian Wallace Horvat, “I Blame Society” Michael Sarnoski, “Pig” Truer Than Fiction Award “North by Current” “Faya Dayi” “Try Harder!” John Cassavetes Award “Cryptozoo” “Jockey” “Shiva Baby” “Sweet Thing” “This Is Not a War Story” Producers Award Brad Becker-Parton Pin-Chun Liu Lizzie Shapiro Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series “Black and Missing” “The Choe Show” “The Lady and the Dale” “Nuclear Family” “Philly D.A.” Best New Scripted Series “Blindspotting” “It’s a Sin” “Reservation Dogs” “The Underground Railroad” “We Are Lady Parts” Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series Thuso Mbedu, “The Underground Railroad” Anjana Vasan, “We Are Lady Parts” Jana Schmieding, “Rutherford Falls” Jasmine Cephas Jones, “Blindspotting” Deborah Ayorinde, “THEM: Covenant” Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series Ollie Alexander, “It’s a Sin” Murray Bartlett, “The White Lotus” Michael Greyeyes, “Rutherford Falls” Ashley Thomas, “THEM: Covenant” Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game” Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series “Reservation Dogs”
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