It’s on to the Oscars for Anora.
The sex-worker dramedy continued its awards-season run as the big winner at the 40th anniversary Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were handed out Saturday afternoon at the Santa Monica Pier. The Neon pic took Best Feature, Director for Sean Baker and gender-neutral Lead Performance for Mikey Madison.
In his acceptance speech for Best Director, self-described “indie lifer” Baker said indie film is “struggling more than ever” with little pay for those who provide a cultural zeitgeist for Hollywood and cinema. “The system has to be changed, it’s completely unsustainable. We shouldn’t be barely getting by.”
Backstage after the ceremony hosted by Aidy Bryant, Baker said: “We’re still processing Cannes. We’re back there — at least I am. Every festival and every award show has meant so much, but of course being here at Film Independent, at the Spirit Awards — when I introduce myself, I say, ‘I’m Sean Baker. I’m an independent filmmaker.’ I’ll always be one.”
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Madison added: “It’s been a really interesting year since May. I’ve not expected any of it. Even just going to Cannes Film Festival was a dream of mine, a career-long dream. Everything that’s followed has been a lovely surprise. I continuously go into these things not expecting anything. I’m really grateful for the love that people have shown Anora.”
Searchlight’s buddy comedy A Real Pain was a double winner today, for writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg’ Best’s Screenplay and the gender-neutral Supporting Performance for Kieran Culkin. Eisenberg praised his co-star from the stage, saying: “Kieran is a very spontaneous person but he doesn’t improvise dialogue. That’s not the way we work. Kieran’s main love is theater as an actor and you don’t improv in theater. … It was a dream to work with him because he’s so great.”
Sean Wang’s Focus Features coming-of-age dramedy Didi also won twice, picking up Best First Feature and First Screenplay.
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Sideshow/Janus Films’ dialogue-free animated pic Flow from Latvia won Best International Feature, and fellow Oscar nominee No Other Land, about the destruction of a village in the occupied West Bank, won Best Documentary.
Jomo Fray for Best Cinematography for Amazon MGM Studios’ Best Picture Oscar nominee Nickel Boys, and Hansjörg Weissbrich took Best Editing for Paramount’s September 5. The first award of the day went to Maisy Stella, who won Best Breakthrough Performance for My Old Ass.
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Past Lives won Best Feature and Best Director for Celine Song at last year’s Spirit Awards but lost the Best Picture Oscar to Oppenheimer. Today’s Spirit winners won’t influence the Academy Award race because Oscar voting ended on February 18.
A movie’s threshold for qualification at the Spirits is that its production cost can’t exceed $30M. Hence, such major awards-season titles as Netflix’s Emilia Perez, Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown and Focus Features’ Conclave are not eligible.
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Girls Will Be Girls won the John Cassavetes Award for best feature made for under $1 million.
Netflix’s Baby Reindeer is today’s only multiple winner on the TV side, taking three prizes. Richard Gadd won for Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series, and Jessica Gunning took Breakthrough Performance right after Nava Mau scooped Supporting Performance.
“I just can’t believe how much this show has resonated, reached so many people and touched so many people,” Gadd said backstage. “I thought it might be artistically celebrated. I never thought it would be watched my this many people. … It’s crazy when I think about all the darkness I was going through that it led to that.”
FX’s Shōgun, which came into the day co-leading the TV nominations with five, won Best New Scripted Series.
Here are the winners the 2025 Spirit Awards, including those that were revealed in December:
Winners
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
Anora
Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Mikey Madison
Anora
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Richard Gadd
Baby Reindeer
BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker
Anora
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Flow
Latvia, France, Belgium
Director: Gints Zilbalodis
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Kieran Culkin
A Real Pain
BEST EDITING
Hansjörg Weissbrich
September 5
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jomo Fray
Nickel Boys
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Sean Wang
Dìdi
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the creator, executive producer and co-executive producer)
Hollywood Black
Executive Producers: Shayla Harris, Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss, Jon Kamen, Justin Simien, Kyle Laursen, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jeffrey Schwarz, Amy Goodman Kass, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart
Co-Executive Producers: David C. Brown, Laurens Grant
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the creator, executive producer and co-executive producer)
Shōgun
Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
Executive Producers: Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell
Co-Executive Producers: Shannon Goss, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich
BEST SCREENPLAY
Jesse Eisenberg
A Real Pain
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
Dìdi
Director/Producer: Sean Wang
Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Jessica Gunning
Baby Reindeer
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Nava Mau
Baby Reindeer
BEST DOCUMENTARY
No Other Land
Directors/Producers: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Maisy Stella
My Old Ass
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Previously announced)
How to Die Alone
Ensemble Cast: Melissa DuPrey, Jaylee Hamidi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Arkie Kandola, Elle Lorraine, Michelle McLeod, Chris “CP” Powell, Conrad Ricamora, Natasha Rothwell, Jocko Sims
PRODUCERS AWARD (Honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films; previously announced)
Sarah Winshall
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD (Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition; previously announced)
Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Director of A Photographic Memory
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Best feature made for under $1 million; award given to the writer, director and producer)
Girls Will Be Girls
Writer/Director/Producer: Shuchi Talati
Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast; previously announced)
His Three Daughters
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto
Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD (Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition; previously announced)
Sarah Friedland
Director of Familiar Touch