Independent Spirit Awards 2025: Anora, Baby Reindeer win big

Film Independent held its 40th annual Spirit Awards ceremony on February 22. Commonly known as the Independent Spirit Awards, the ceremony hands out awards to both independent films and television series. Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light was nominated for Best International Film. Anora and I Saw the TV Glow led the nominations for the most awards amongst films, with five nominations each. Didi followed closely with four nominations. In the end, Anora won the most awards, with three in total; Didi and A Real Pain won two awards each.

Amongst series, Shogun led the nominations with five, Baby Reindeer and English Teacher came second with four each. Baby Reindeer topped the list with three wins.

Girls Will Be Girls won the John Cassavetes Award for an independent film made under $1 million. Kani Kusruti, who played a role in Girls Will be Girls, was nominated for Best Supporting Performance in an independent film. The Robert Altman Award was awarded to the director, casting director and the cast of His Three Daughters.

The following is the list of winners and nominees:

Special Awards

John Cassavetes Award: Girls Will Be Girls

Robert Altman Award: His Three Daughters

Films

Best Feature

Winner: Anora

Other nominees: I Saw the TV Glow, Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, The Substance

Best Director

Winner: Sean Baker (Anora)

Other nominees: Ali Abbasi (The Apprentice), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), Alonso Ruizpalacios (La cocina), Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow)

Best Leading Performance

Winner: Mikey Madison (Anora)

Other nominees: Amy Adams (Nightbitch), Ryan Destiny (The Fire Inside), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Keith Kupferer (Ghostlight), Demi Moore (The Substance), Hunter Schafer (Cuckoo), Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow), June Squibb (Thelma), and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).

Best Supporting Performance

Winner: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

Other nominees: Yura Borisov (Anora), Joan Chen (Didi), Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson), Jack Haven (I Saw the TV Glow), Carol Kane (Between the Temples), Karren Karagulian (Anora), Kani Kusruti (Girls Will Be Girls), Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing), and Adam Pearson (A Different Man).

Best Screenplay

Winner: A Real Pain

Other nominees: Heretic, My Old Ass, A Different Man, and I Saw the TV Glow.

Best Documentary Feature

Winner: No Other Land

Other nominees: Gaucho Gaucho, Hummingbirds, Patrice: The Movie, and Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat.

Best International Film

Winner: Flow

Other nominees: All We Imagine as Light, Black Dog, Green Border, and Hard Truths.

Best Cinematography

Winner: Jomo Fray (Nickel Boys)

Other nominees: Dinh Duy Hung (Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell), Maria von Hausswolff (Janet Planet), Juan Pablo Ramirez (La cocina), and Rina Yang (The Fire Inside).

Best Editing

Winner: Hansjorg Weissbrich (September 5)

Other nominees: Laura Colwell and Vanara Taing (Jazzy), Oliver Bugge Coutte and Olivia Neergard-Holm (The Apprentice), and Arielle Zakowski (Didi).

Television

Best New Scripted Series

Winner: Shogun

Other nominees: Baby Reindeer, Diarra from Detroit, English Teacher, and Fantasmas.

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series

Winner: Hollywood Black

Other nominees: Erased, Photographer, Ren Faire, and Social Studies.

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series

Winner: Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer)

Other nominees: Brian Jordan Alvarez (English Teacher), Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge), Kathryn Hahn (Agatha All Along), Cristin Milioti (The Penguin), Julianne Moore (Mary and George), Hiroyuki Sanada (Shogun), Anna Sawai (Shogun), Andrew Scott (Ripley), and Julio Torres (Fantasmas).

Best Supporting Performance in a New Series

Winner: Nava Mau (Baby Reindeer)

Other nominees: Tadanobu Asano (Shogun), Enrico Colantoni (English Teacher), Betty Gilpin (Three Women), Choe Guidry (Under the Bridge), Moeka Hoshi (Shogun), Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher), Patti LuPone (Agatha All Along), Ruth Negga (Presumed Innocent), and Brian Tee (Expats).

Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series

Winner: Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer)

Other nominees: Diarra Kilpatrick (Diarra from Detroit), Joe Locke (Agatha All Along), Megan Stott (Penelope), and Hoa Xuande (The Sympathizer).

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series: How to Die Alone