2021 Independent Spirit Awards: The Complete Winners List
By ETonline Staff 9:02 PM PDT, April 22, 2021
Sound of Metal; Promising Young Woman
Amazon Studios; Focus Features
The Venn diagram between the Oscars and the Film Independent Spirit Awards is essentially a circle this year, as films like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Minari and Nomadlanddominate both awards shows.
Ahead of Sunday’s Academy Awards, the 36th Independent Spirit Awards honored the best in indie filmmaking and, for the first time, television during Thursday’s live primetime ceremony on IFC. (A break from tradition, as the Spirit Awards are usually a daytime fête the day before the Oscars.)
Saturday Night Live’s Melissa Villaseñor served as host, with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Laura Dern, Kumail Nanjiani, Adam Sandler, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lulu Wang and more on hand to present the awards.
See the full list of winners, in bold, below.
Best Feature
First Cow
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
**WINNER — Nomadland
Best First Feature
I Carry You With Me
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Miss Juneteenth
Nine Days
**WINNER — Sound of Metal
Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
**WINNER — Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Best Screenplay
Bad Education
The Half of It
Minari
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
**WINNER — Promising Young Woman
Best First Screenplay
The Assistant
Lapsis
Miss Juneteenth
**WINNER — Palm Springs
Straight Up
John Cassavetes Award
Given to the best feature made for under $500,000
The Killing of Two Lovers
La Leyenda Negra
Lingua Franca
**WINNER — Residue
Saint Frances
Best Male Lead
**WINNER — Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Adarsh Gourav, The White Tiger
Rob Morgan, Bull
Steven Yeun, Minari
Best Female Lead
Nicole Beharie, Miss Juneteenth
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Julia Garner, The Assistant
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
**WINNER — Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Best Supporting Male
Colman Domingo, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Orion Lee, First Cow
**WINNER — Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Glynn Turman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Benedict Wong, Nine Days
Best Supporting Female
Alexis Chikaeze, Miss Juneteenth
Yeri Han, Minari
Valerie Mahaffey, French Exit
Talia Ryder, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
**WINNER — Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
Best Cinematography
The Assistant
Bull
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
**WINNER — Nomadland
She Dies Tomorrow
Best Editing
I Carry You With Me
The Invisible Man
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
**WINNER — Nomadland
Residue
Best International Film
Bacurau (Brazil)
The Disciple (India)
Night of the Kings (Ivory Coast)
Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (Hungary)
**WINNER — Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Best Documentary
Collective
**WINNER — Crip Camp
Dick Johnson Is Dead
The Mole Agent
Time
Robert Altman Award
Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.
One Night in Miami
Director: Regina King
Casting Directors: Kimberly R. Hardin
Ensemble Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.
Producers Awards
(The Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films)
Lucas Joaquin
**WINNER — Gerry Kim
Kara Durrett
Someone to Watch Award
(The Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition)
David Midell (Director of The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain)
**WINNER — Ekwa Msangi (Director of Farewell Amor)
Annie Silverstein (Director of Bull)
Truer Than Fiction Award
(The 26th Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition)
Cecilia Aldarondo (Director of Landfall)
**WINNER — Elegance Bratton (Director of Pier Kids)
Elizabeth Lo (Director of Stray)
Best New Scripted Series
A Teacher
**WINNER — I May Destroy You
Little America
Small Axe
Unorthodox
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children
City So Real
**WINNER — Immigration Nation
Love Fraud
We’re Here
Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series
Conphidance, Little America
Adam Ali, Little America
Nicco Annan, P-Valley
**WINNER — Amit Rahav, Unorthodox
Harold Torres, ZeroZeroZero
Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series
Elle Fanning, The Great
**WINNER — Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Abby McEnany, Work in Progress
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Never Have I Ever
Jordan Kristine Seamón, We Are Who We Are
Best Ensemble Cast in a Scripted Series
I May Destroy You
Cast: Michaela Coel, Paapa Essiedu, Wruche Opia, Stephen Wight
