41st Independent Spirit Awards

41st Film Independent Spirit Awards
Awarded for	Best in independent film and independent television
Date	February 15, 2026
Site	Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Highlights
Most nominations	Peter Hujar's Day (5)
Television coverage
Network	YouTube (through @filmindependent + @imdb)
← 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards 42nd →

The 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films and television series of 2025, will be presented by Film Independent on February 15, 2026.^[1][2][3] The ceremony will take place at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. It will also stream live on the YouTube channels of both IMDb and Film Independent, and across Film Independent's social platforms.^[3]

The nominations were announced live via YouTube on December 3, 2025.^[4] Peter Hujar's Day led the film nominations with five; Adolescence, Forever, and Mr Loverman received the most television nominations with four each.^[3][5][6]

In May 2025, Film Independent announced that the ceremony venue will move from the Santa Monica Pier to the Hollywood Palladium. This move comes as Santa Monica, the longtime home of the Film Independent Spirit Awards, undergoes renovations.^[1]

Milestone

Unlike previous ceremonies (including the 40th ceremony where Best International Film winner Flow became the first animated feature to win a Film Independent Spirit Award in any category),^[7][8][9] three animated projects were nominated for major categories this year: Endless Cookie for Best Documentary Feature, Common Side Effects for Best New Scripted Series, and Boys Go to Jupiter for the John Cassavetes Award.^[10]

Winners and nominees

Film

Best Feature	Best Director
Peter Hujar's Day – Jonah Disend and Jordan Drake The Plague – Derek Dauchy, Joel Edgerton, Roy Lee, Lucy McKendrick, Steven Schneider, and Lizzie Shapiro Sorry, Baby – Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, and Adele Romanski Train Dreams – Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, and Teddy Schwarzman Twinless – David Permut and James Sweeney	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 Lead Performance	Best Supporting Performance
Everett Blunck – The Plague as Ben Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I'd Kick You as Linda Kathleen Chalfant – Familiar Touch as Ruth Chang Chen – Lucky Lu as Lu Jia Cheng Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams as Robert Grainier Dylan O'Brien – Twinless as Roman / Rocky Keke Palmer – One of Them Days as Dreux Théodore Pellerin – Lurker as Matthew Morning Tessa Thompson – Hedda as Hedda Gabler Ben Whishaw – Peter Hujar's Day as Peter Hujar	Naomi Ackie – Sorry, Baby as Lydie Zoey Deutch – Nouvelle Vague as Jean Seberg Kirsten Dunst – Roofman as Leigh Wainscott Rebecca Hall – Peter Hujar's Day as Linda Rosenkrantz Nina Hoss – Hedda as Eileen Lovborg Jane Levy – A Little Prayer as Tammy Archie Madekwe – Lurker as Oliver Kali Reis – Rebuilding as Mila Jacob Tremblay – Sovereign as Joe Kane Haipeng Xu – Blue Sun Palace as Didi
Best Breakthrough Performance	Best Screenplay
Liz Larsen – The Baltimorons as Didi Misha Osherovich – She's the He as Ethan Kayo Martin – The Plague as Jake SZA – One of Them Days as Alyssa Tabatha Zimiga – East of Wall as herself	Splitsville – Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin A Little Prayer – Angus MacLachlan Twinless – James Sweeney Sovereign – Christian Swegal Sorry, Baby – Eva Victor
Best First Feature	Best First Screenplay
Blue Sun Palace – Constance Tsang (director); Sally Sujin Oh, Eli Raskin, and Tony Yang (producers) Dust Bunny – Bryan Fuller (director/producer); Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee (producers) East of Wall – Kate Beecroft (director/producer); Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, and Lila Yacoub (producers) Lurker – Alex Russell (director); Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D'Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, and Jack Selby (producers) One of Them Days – Lawrence Lamont (director); Deniese Davis, Poppy Hanks, James Lopez, Issa Rae, and Sara Rastogi (producers)	Friendship – Andrew DeYoung Outerlands – Elena Oxman Lurker – Alex Russell One of Them Days – Syreeta Singleton Blue Sun Palace – Constance Tsang
Best Documentary Feature	Best International Film
Come See Me in the Good Light – Ryan White (director/producer); Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, and Stef Willen (producers) Endless Cookie – Peter Scriver (director); Seth Scriver (director/producer); Daniel Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, and Chris Yurkovich (producers) My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow – Julia Loktev (director/producer) The Perfect Neighbor – Geeta Gandbhir (director/producer); Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, and Alisa Payne (producers) The Tale of Silyan – Tamara Kotevska (director/producer); Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, and Jordanco Petkovski (producers)	All That's Left of You (Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus) – Cherien Dabis (director) On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Zambia, UK, Ireland) – Rungano Nyoni (director) A Poet (Colombia) – Simón Mesa Soto (director) The Secret Agent (Brazil) – Kleber Mendonça Filho (director) Sirāt (Spain) – Oliver Laxe (director)
Best Cinematography	Best Editing
Alex Ashe – Peter Hujar's Day Norm Li – Blue Sun Palace David J. Thompson – Warfare Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams Nicole Hirsch Whitaker – Dust Bunny	Ben Leonberg – Good Boy Carson Lund – Eephus Fin Oates – Warfare Sara Shaw – Splitsville Sofía Subercaseaux – The Testament of Ann Lee

Films with multiple nominations

Films that received multiple nominations

Nominations	Film
5	Peter Hujar's Day
4	Blue Sun Palace
	Lurker
	One of Them Days
	Sorry, Baby
	Train Dreams
3	The Plague
	Twinless
2	The Baltimorons
	Dust Bunny
	East of Wall
	Eephus
	Familiar Touch
	Hedda
	If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
	A Little Prayer
	Lucky Lu
	Sovereign
	Splitsville
	Warfare

Television

Best New Scripted Series	Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
Adolescence – Creators/Executive Producers: Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham; Executive Producers: Philip Barantini, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Nina Wolarsky, Hannah Walters, Mark Herbert, and Emily Feller; Co-Executive Producers: Carina Sposato, Niall Shamma, and Peter Balm (Netflix) Common Side Effects – Creators/Executive Producers: Joe Bennett and Steve Hely; Executive Producers: Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, Dustin Davis, James Merrill, Sean Buckelew, Benjy Brooke, Kelly Crews, and Suzanna Makkos; Co-Executive Producer: Dave King (Adult Swim) Forever – Creator/Executive Producer: Mara Brock Akil; Executive Producers: Regina King, Susie Fitzgerald, Shana C. Waterman, Reina King, Anthony Hemingway, Judy Blume, Erika Harrison, and Sara E. White; Co-Executive Producer: Jerron Horton (Netflix) Mr Loverman – Executive Producers: Lennie James, Hong Khaou, Jo McClellan, Faye Ward, Hannah Farrell, and Hannah Price (BBC One) North of North – Creators/Executive Producers: Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril; Executive Producers: Garry Campbell, Anya Adams, Susan Coyne, and Miranda de Pencier; Co-Executive Producers: Teresa M. Ho, Michael Goldbach, Kathryn Borel, and JP Larocque (Netflix)	Citizen Nation – Creator: Bret Sigler; Executive Producers: Christopher Buck and Kyra Darnton (PBS) Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time – Executive Producers: Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Ryan Coogler, Myles Estey, Ted Skillman, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Peter Nicks, Kalia King, Carolyn Payne, and Sean David Johnson; Co-Executive Producer: Kelli Buchanan (National Geographic) Pee-wee as Himself – Executive Producers: Matt Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, Kyle Martin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez (HBO) Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television – Executive Producers: Issa Rae, Montrel McKay, John Maggio, Rachel Dretzin, John Ealer, Jonathan Berry, Dave Becky, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez; Co-Executive Producers: Esther Dere and Zachary Herrmann (HBO) Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae – Executive Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow, Amy Kaufman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Riva Marker; Co-Executive Producer: Mark Becker (Hulu)
Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series	Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Sydney Chandler – Alien: Earth as Wendy (FX / FX on Hulu) Stephen Graham – Adolescence as Eddie Miller (Netflix) Ethan Hawke – The Lowdown as Lee Raybon (FX) Lennie James – Mr Loverman as Barrington Walker (BBC One) Anna Lambe – North of North as Siaja (Netflix) Lola Petticrew – Say Nothing as Dolours Price (FX on Hulu) Seth Rogen – The Studio as Matt Remick (Apple TV) Lovie Simone – Forever as Keisha Clark (Netflix) Michelle Williams – Dying for Sex as Molly Kochan (FX on Hulu) Noah Wyle – The Pitt as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (HBO Max)	Ariyon Bakare – Mr Loverman as Morris De La Roux (BBC One) Babou Ceesay – Alien: Earth as Morrow (FX / FX on Hulu) Sharon D. Clarke – Mr Loverman as Carmel Walker (BBC One) Taylor Dearden – The Pitt as Dr. Melissa "Mel" King (HBO Max) Erin Doherty – Adolescence as Briony Ariston (Netflix) Stephen McKinley Henderson – A Man on the Inside as Calbert Graham (Netflix) Poorna Jagannathan – Deli Boys as Lucky (Hulu) Xosha Roquemore – Forever as Shelly (Netflix) Jenny Slate – Dying for Sex as Nikki Boyer (FX on Hulu) Ben Whishaw – Black Doves as Sam Young (Netflix)
Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series	Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Asif Ali – Deli Boys as Mir Dar (Hulu) Wally Baram – Overcompensating as Carmen Neil (Prime Video) Owen Cooper – Adolescence as Jamie Miller (Netflix) Michael Cooper Jr. – Forever as Justin Edwards (Netflix) Ernest Kingsley Junior – Washington Black as George Washington "Wash" Black (Hulu)	Chief of War – Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale'o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, and James Udom

Series with multiple nominations

Series that received multiple nominations

Nominations	Series
4	Adolescence
	Forever
	Mr Loverman
2	Alien: Earth
	Deli Boys
	Dying for Sex
	North of North
	The Pitt

Special awards

John Cassavetes Award

• The Baltimorons – Jay Duplass (director/writer/producer); Michael Strassner (writer/producer); David Bonnett Jr. and Drew Langer (producers)
• Boys Go to Jupiter – Julian Glander (director/writer)
• Eephus – Carson Lund (director/writer/producer); Michael Basta (writer/producer); Nate Fisher (writer); David Entin and Tyler Taormina (producers)
• Esta Isla (This Island) – Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones Molina (directors/writers/producers); Kisha Tikina Burgos (writer)
• Familiar Touch – Sarah Friedland (director/writer/producer); Alexandra Byer and Matthew Thurm (producers)

Robert Altman Award

• 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, and Garrett Wareing

Emerging Filmmakers Awards

Producers Award

The award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films.

• Emma Hannaway
• Luca Intili
• Tony Yang

Someone to Watch Award

The award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

• Tatti Ribeiro – Valentina
• Neo Sora – Happyend
• Annapurna Sriram – Fucktoys

Truer than Fiction Award

The award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

• Tony Benna – André is an Idiot
• Rajee Samarasinghe – Your Touch Makes Others Invisible
• Brittany Shyne – Seeds

See also

• 98th Academy Awards
• 83rd Golden Globe Awards
• 79th British Academy Film Awards
• 46th Golden Raspberry Awards
• 32nd Actor Awards
• 31st Critics' Choice Awards

References

1. Hore, Seanna; Santos, Gladys (May 8, 2025). "2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards to Take Place Sunday, February 15" (Press release). Film Independent. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
2. Feinberg, Scott (May 8, 2025). "Spirit Awards Leaving Santa Monica Beach, Heading to Hollywood Palladium". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
3. Film Independent (December 3, 2025). "Here Are Your 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees!" (Press release). Film Independent. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
4. "Here Are Your 2026 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominees!". Film Independent. December 3, 2025. Retrieved December 3, 2025 – via YouTube.
5. Lattanzio, Ryan (December 3, 2025). "Spirit Award Nominees include 'Sorry, Baby', 'Peter Hujar's Day', 'Train Dreams', 'Twinless', and 'The Plague'". IndieWire. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
6. Zee, Michaela (December 3, 2025). "Spirit Awards 2026 Nominations: 'Peter Hujar's Day' Leads Film Categories, 'Adolescence' and 'Mr Loverman' Tie in TV". Variety. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
7. FNE Staff (February 25, 2025). "'Flow' Wins Independent Spirit Award 2025 for Best International Film". Film New Europe. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
8. LSM+ English (February 25, 2025). "Latvian 'Flow' picks up another award". Latvian Public Media. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
9. Pedersen, Erik; Topel, Fred; D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 22, 2025). "Spirit Awards: 'Anora' Takes Best Feature, Director & Lead Performance; Three Wins for 'Baby Reindeer' & Two Each for 'A Real Pain' & 'Didi' – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
10. Milligan, Mercedes (December 3, 2025). "Three Animated Projects Nominated for Film Independent Spirit Awards". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 3, 2025.

External links

• Official website