Since 1993, the Film Independent Spirit Awards have been held at Santa Monica State Beach, and the dreamy California coast couldn't be a more appropriate vibe for the unique award season event that's all about shining a spotlight on some of the most interesting voices in cinema. Mixing up the film world's indie glitterati is one of the most intriguing details of the Spirit Awards. Where else are you likely to see John Waters and Cate Blanchett share approving glances over their fiercely abstract ensembles from across the red carpet?!
This year, several innovative creatives with ties to the Sundance Institute will make the rounds at the awards show, as 20 incredible Sundance-supported projects have been nominated for the 40th edition of the Film Independent Spirit Awards. From Jesse Eisenberg's witty A Real Pain to Megan Park's charming My Old Ass, Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn's inspiring series Penelope, and gripping documentaries Gaucho Gaucho and Sugarcane - all of which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival - we're so excited to see so many compelling works in the mix. We're also thrilled to see that Sarah Winshall, the producer of I Saw the TV Glow, will be getting the Producers Award.
Topping the list with five nominations (along with Anora from Sundance Institute alum Sean Baker) is Jane Schoenbrun's I Saw the TV Glow, which stars Justice Smith, who is nominated for Best Lead Performance, and Brigette Lundy-Paine. Another 2024 Fest premiere, it secured noms for Best Feature and Best Directors, among others. Championing emerging filmmakers - and those who can make masterpieces on a budget - the Spirit Awards don't nominate projects that cost more than $30 million to produce, so all of the projects recognized are shining examples of creative independence.
Below, see the complete list of all the Sundance-supported projects nominated for the Film Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by actor Aidy Bryant and taking place on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at Santa Monica State Beach and prepare to root for the nominees when the show streams live on the IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
26/09/2026
With short turnaround between game selections, ESPN's operations team is pla...
26/09/2026
Prime Video will use GCV's Bird and Magic mobile units for its inaugural WNB...
26/09/2026
Studio show moves on-site as network models playoff coverage on its NBA flagship...
26/09/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
26/09/2026
Douglas Keeve attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival screening of Unzipped at the Egyptian Theatre. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock for Sundance Film...
26/09/2026
Launched alongside three new expansion packs
In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Native Instruments have released a major update for their Maschine 3 ...
26/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/09/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
25/09/2026
Infront has named Ronald den Hollander as CEO of its Host Broadcast Services (HBS) subsidiary, effective 1 October 2026. The appointment follows the previously ...
25/09/2026
The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) will hold Cyber University 2.0, a full-day cybersecurity summit for the broadcast and media industries, on Tu...
25/09/2026
Alpha Networks and Ateme have delivered a joint video platform for the digital d...
25/09/2026
Encompass Digital Media has announced the migration of multiple Viaplay free-to-air channels - TV3, TV6, TV8, and TV10 - to its Altitude Scheduling platform. Al...
25/09/2026
NAB Show New York 2026 will take place October 21-22 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Registration is open at nabshow.com/newyork.
Th...
25/09/2026
NHL Network has announced its studio programming lineup for the 2026-27 regular ...
25/09/2026
Clear-Com has announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom system as part of a sanctuary technolo...
25/09/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has deployed EVS XT-VIA live video production s...
25/09/2026
BBright, a Hexaglobe Group company, has announced that dotCentral has joined as a sales and support partner in the United States.
BBright's portfolio cover...
25/09/2026
MeyerPro delivered audio, video, broadcast, and LED production for the Acumatica Summit 2026 at the Seattle Convention Center's Summit Building, January 25-...
25/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced its inaugural All-Star Weekend, to be held Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The...
25/09/2026
The 2026 Presidents Cup is underway at Medinah Country Club outside of Chicago with Team USA and an International Team of men's golfers facing off for four ...
25/09/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's Atlanta hub hosted a day of discussion on REMI prod...
25/09/2026
Algorithm update & new DVA vibrato-detection engine
A new flagship version of Antares' iconic pitch-correction software has arrived, and along with a co...
25/09/2026
New flagship unit to arrive in early 2027
Two notes Audio Engineering have revealed that a new and improved version of their hugely popular reactive load bo...
25/09/2026
AI-free mixing tool gets an upgrade
Launched in October 2025, Tim Exiles Finalist is an algorithmic mixing tool that's been designed for those who don&#...
25/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Mobile Test Summit 2026 puts the spotlight on 6G - registrations...
25/09/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on IBC 2026 and considers the main learnings against an industry that saw AI finally coming out of the labs and into pr...
25/09/2026
Digital Anarchy Releases Newest Version of its Real-Time Skin Retouching Tool fo...
25/09/2026
Blackmagic Design Used on More Than 50 Summer Films in 2026
Brie Clayton September 25, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image: Disclosure Day
Blackmagic Design p...
25/09/2026
How I Automated Social Media Resizing in After Effects - Free Script
Graham Quince September 25, 2026
0 Comments
If your text keeps getting cut off on...
25/09/2026
IBC has unveiled the winners of the prestigious IBC2026 Innovation Awards at an event held at the RAI Amsterdam on Sunday 13 September, honouring collaborative ...
25/09/2026
IBC2026 brought the global media, entertainment and technology community together for four days of business, innovation and collaboration at the RAI Amsterdam. ...
25/09/2026
Lightware testing has revealed that each USB-C port on Apple's new MacBook Neo consumes three of the seven USB tiers available under the USB specification, ...
25/09/2026
Lightware is supporting educational institutions in building modern learning environments by combining professional training with education-focused AV technolog...
25/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/09/2026
Long-Standing Customer Renews Multiyear Contract for VO's Secure Video Player, Content Security, and Device Monitoring Solutions
Viaccess-Orca (VO), a glob...
25/09/2026
Automate Video Progress Bars in After Effects - No Keyframes!
Graham Quince September 24, 2026
0 Comments
Learn how to create an automated video playb...
25/09/2026
Friday 25 September 2026
How to watch an unmissable weekend of women's football on Sky Sports and NOW
Sky Sports and NOW will broadcast seven live games f...
25/09/2026
Friday 25 September 2026
YAGA trailer released, coming exclusively to Sky and N...
25/09/2026
Watch this space: a new strategic direction for UK media. Arqiva has submitted its response to the Governments Green Paper on the future of television distribut...
25/09/2026
Want to be part of this year's Late Late Toy Show?
Final call for applications in search for this year's stars
The most wonderful night of the year is...
24/09/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) is supporting Virginia Public Media (VPM), the ...
24/09/2026
RED Digital Cinema's RED V-RAPTOR [X] and RED V-RAPTOR XL [X] cameras with the Phantom Track feature are the first cameras to receive GhostFrame Pro Certifi...
Since 1993, the Film Independent Spirit Awards have been held at Santa Monica State Beach, and the dreamy California coast couldn't be a more appropriate vibe for the unique award season event that's all about shining a spotlight on some of the most interesting voices in cinema. Mixing up the film world's indie glitterati is one of the most intriguing details of the Spirit Awards. Where else are you likely to see John Waters and Cate Blanchett share approving glances over their fiercely abstract ensembles from across the red carpet?! 
