The 2026 Spirit Awards nominations announcement has begun.
The annual awards ceremony honors outstanding achievements in both television and film. To be eligible, films must have been produced for less than $30 million, with a reduced cap of $1 million for those competing for the John Cassavetes Award. In the TV categories, only new shows that have run for one season and were released between Oct. 1, 2024 and Sept. 30, 2025, are eligible for consideration. An anthology series only qualifies in its first season.
The 40th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards is scheduled to take place on Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium.
Check out the nominees below (updating live):
Best Screenplay
“A Little Prayer”
“Sorry, Baby”
“Sovereign”
“Splitsville”
“Twinless”
Best Documentary
“Come See Me in the Good Light”
“Endless Cookie”
“My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow”
“The Perfect Neighbor”
“The Tale of Silyan”
Best First Feature
“Blue Sun Palace”
“Dust Bunny”
“East of Wall”
“Lurker”
“One of Them Days”
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 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 Breakthrough Performance
Liz Larsen, “The Baltimorons”
Kayo Martin, “The Plague”
Misha Osherovich, “She’s the He”
SZA, “One of The Days”
Tabatha Zimiga, “East of Wall”
John Cassavetes Award
“The Baltimorons”
“Boys Go to Jupiter”
“Eephus”
“Esta Isla (This Island)”
“Familiar Touch”
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, Garrett Wareing
Best First Screenplay
“Blue Sun Palace”
“Friendship”
“Lurker”
“One of Them Days”
“Outerlands”
Best Cinematography
“Blue Sun Palace”
“Dust Bunny”
“Peter Hujar’s Day”
“Train Dreams”
“Warfare”
Best Editing
“Eephus”
“Good Boy”
“Splitsville”
“The Testament of Ann Lee”
“Warfare”
Best International Film
“All That’s Left of You”
“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl”
“A Poet”
“The Secret Agent”
“Sirat”
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 Feature
“Peter Hujar’s Day”
“The Plague”
“Sorry, Baby”
“Train Dreams”
“Twinless”
Producers Awards – Emerging Filmmaker Awards
Emma Hannaway
Luca Intili
Tony Yang
Someone to Watch Award – Emerging Filmmaker Awards
Tatti Ribeiro, director of “Valentina”
Neo Sora, director of “Happyend”
Annapurna Sriram, director of “Fucktoys”
Truer Than Fiction Award – Emerging Filmmaker Awards
Tony Benna, director of “Andre Is an Idiot”
Rajee Samarasinghe, director of “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible”
Brittany Shyne, director of “Seeds”
TELEVISION
Best New Scripted Series
“Adolescence”
“Common Side Effects”
“Forever”
“Mr Loverman”
“North of North”
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Citizen Nation”
“Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time”
“Pee-Wee as Himself”
“Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television”
“Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae”
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”
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“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, James Udom
