Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations: Zola, C’mon C’mon among films up for Best Feature

Last Updated on December 15, 2021

The nominations for the 37th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and Zola leads the pack with a total of seven nominations, per “Deadline.”

Zola is up against some stiff competition for the Best Feature prize which also includes The Novice, which scored five nominations, as well as The Lost Daughter, scoring four nominations. Rounding out the feature film race is A Chiara, and C’mon C’mon.

A24 was the most honored indie studio, receiving 13 nominations in total in recognition of The Humans, C’mon, C’mon and Zola. Neon, the producer of Pig and A Chiara, and Netflix, which backed The Lost Daughter and Passing, were close behind with 9 nominations apiece.

The Spirit Awards highlight and celebrate movies that are, for the most part, produced and conceived outside of the Hollywood studio system. In order to qualify, eligible films have to have budgets of less than $22.5 million. Can these awards be an indication of where the Oscars are headed? Sometimes. In 2021, the Spirits awarded its best feature prize to Nomadland, which went on to score the Best Picture honor at the Oscars. However, for the most part, the choices between the Indie Spirits and the Academy often deviate. The Spirits have honored Oscar winners such as Moonlight with its top honors, but they have also handed best feature to The Farewell and If Beale Street Could Talk, both of which failed to land best picture nominations at the Academy Awards.

The nominations were announced Tuesday by Beanie Feldstein, Regina Hall, and Naomi Watts. The awards, which are returning in person in 2022 after going virtual due to COVID in 2021, will air on IFC on Sunday, March 6, 2022.

Do YOU agree with the Independent Spirit Awards nominations? You can check out the full list of nominees below!

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 Male Lead
Clifton Collins Jr., “Jockey”
Frankie Faison, “Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Michael Greyeyes, “Wild Indian”
Udo Kier, “Swan Song”
Simon Rex, “Red Rocket”

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 Supporting Female
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Amy Forsyth, “The Novice”
Ruth Negga, “Passing”
Revika 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
Nikole Beckwith, “Together Together”
Janicza Bravo, Jeremy O. Harris, “Zola”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”
Mike Mills, “C’mon C’mon”
Todd Stephens, “Swan Song”

Best First Screenplay
Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr., “Wild Indian ”
Matt Fifer; Story by Sheldon D. Brown, “Cicada”
Shatara Michelle Ford, “Test Pattern ”
Fran Kranz, “Mass”
Michael Sarnoski; Story by Vanessa Block, Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”

Best First Feature
“7 Days”
“Holler”
“Queen of Glory”
“Test Pattern”
“Wild Indian”

John Cassavettes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
“Cryptozoo”
“Jockey”
“Shiva Baby”
“Sweet Thing”
“This is Not a War Story”

Best Cinematography
“A Chiara”
“Blue Bayou”
“The Humans”
“Passing”
“Zola”

Best Documentary
“Ascension”
“Flee”
“In The Same Breath”
“Procession”
“Summer of Soul”

Best Editing
“A Chiara”
“The Nowhere Inn”
“The Novice”
“Zola”
“The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”

Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
“Mass”

Best International Film
“Compartment No. 6”
“Drive My Car”
“Parallel Mothers”
“Pebbles”
“Petite Maman”
“Prayers for the Stolen”

Producers Award (Honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.)
Brad Becker-Parton
Pin-Chun Liu
Lizzie Shapiro

Someone to Watch Award
Alex Camilleri, “Luzzu”
Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”
Gillian Wallace Horvat, “I Blame Society”

“The Truer Than Fiction Award” (Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.)
Angelo Madsen Minax, “North By Current”
Jessica Beshir, “Faya Dayi”
Debbie Lum, “Try Harder!”

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

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 New 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 New Scripted Series
Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game”
Olly Alexander, “It’s a Sin”
Michael Greyeyes, “Rutherford Falls”
Murray Bartlett, “The White Lotus”
Ashley Thomas, “THEM: Covenant”

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“Reservation Dogs”