Nomadland wins big at the Spirit Awards before heading into Oscar weekend

The virtually held 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards gave Chloé Zhao’s NOMADLAND extra momentum as it heads into Oscar weekend while Carey Mulligan proudly dedicates her Promising Young Woman win to the recently passed Peaky Blinders star, Helen McCrory.

Nomadland, which is the frontrunner to take home the Best Picture prize at the Oscars, won the Spirit Award for Best Picture, Best Director (Chloé Zhao), Best Editing, and Best Cinematography. Producers Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, and Chloé Zhao claimed the prize with the Best Picture win while Zhao also walked away with an award for her directing and editing duties. Joshua James Richards, winning for his cinematography, added that award to his mantle. In response to the Best Pictures win, Asher said “In our film, Bob Wells says to [McDormand’s] Fern that you’ve come to the right place to connect with your tribe, your community, and Independent Film, you are our community.”

For her role in Promising Young Woman, Carey Mulligan won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female lead but it was her acceptance speech that stole the show when she ended it on a very heartfelt note with a dedication to the recently passed actress Helen McCrory. Mulligan said, “She was a true independent spirit and actress that I have looked up to, and will continue to look up to for the rest of my career, Helen McCrory, so thank you to her for everything she gave us.” McCrory sadly passed away on April 16 at the age of 52 after a long battle with cancer. As for other wins for Promising Young Woman, the film picked up the Screenplay prize for writer-director Emerald Fennell. This is an award I hope it wins at the Oscars because I think its competition in the other categories is too stiff at this point and it’s a film that deserves at least one major win. Truly was my favorite film to come out last year.

In the Best Actor field, Riz Ahmed took home the top prize for his top-notch performance in Amazon Studios’ Sound of Metal. The film also earned another two wins with Paul Raci claiming the prize for Best Supporting Actor and director Darius Marder taking home the Best First Feature award. Raci signed throughout his acceptance speech last night and offered up the best advice of the night when he signed “Don’t quit your day job, I never did, I still have it too.” The journeyman actor has had quite the road to this moment and getting here has been truly inspirational to watch. Lastly, for her turn in Minari which has made her a frontrunner in the Best Supporting Actress category, Yuh-jung Youn was given the prize by the Spirit Awards for her scene-stealing supporting performance in the film. 

The Spirit Awards aren’t necessarily a true barometer for the Oscars but their picks for Best Picture were in line with the Academy’s between 2013-2016. The films that won during that period were 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, Spotlight, and Moonlight. It’s possible that a film like Minari could pull an upset at the Oscars but given that Nomadland has been the darling of this award’s season, I think these Spirit wins only increases its chances for Oscar glory.

Did YOUR favorites win at last night’s Film Independent Spirit Awards? You can check out the full winner’s list below!

BEST FEATURE

Nomadland

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
(The Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition)

EKWA MSANGI

Director of Farewell Amor

BEST MALE LEAD

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

PRODUCERS AWARD
(The Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films)

Gerry Kim

BEST DIRECTOR

Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES

IMMIGRATION NATION

Executive Producers: Christina Clusiau, Shaul Schwarz, Dan Cogan, Jenny Raskin, Brandon Hill, Christian Thompson

Co-Executive Producers: Andrey Alistratov, Jay Arthur Sterrenberg, Lauren Haber

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

RESIDUE

Writer/Director: Merawi Gerima

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Joshua James Richards, Nomadland

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

QUO VADIS, AIDA? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Director: Jasmila Žbani?

BEST EDITING

Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

I MAY DESTROY YOU

Cast: Michaela Coel, Paapa Essiedu, Weruche Opia, Stephen Wight

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

Amit Rahav, Unorthodox

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

Shira Haas, Unorthodox

BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

I MAY DESTROY YOU

Creator/Executive Producer: Michaela Coel

Executive Producers: Phil Clarke, Roberto Troni

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

Director: Regina King

Casting Directors: Kimberly R. Hardin

Ensemble Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.

BEST SCREENPLAY

Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

BEST DOCUMENTARY

CRIP CAMP

Directors/Producers: Jim LeBrecht, Nicole Newnham

Producer: Sara Bolder

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

ELEGANCE BRATTON
Director of Pier Kids

BEST FIRST FEATURE

SOUND OF METAL

Director: Darius Marder

Producers: Bill Benz, Kathy Benz, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Andy Siara, Palm Springs

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Yuh-jung Youn, Minari

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