Netflix dominated the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards as The lost girl won best picture and director and screenplay awards for Maggie Gyllenhaal at an in-person ceremony on the beach in Santa Monica that honored diversity.
Sunday’s (6) triumph at the 37th Film Independent Awards saw Elena Ferrante’s adaptation starring Oscar nominees Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley convert three of its four nominations.
Buckley was also up for supporting actress and although many Oscar nominees were ineligible for the Spirit Awards due to the $22.5 million budget limit, The lost girl triumph will only serve to further boost his profile in the race for the Oscars, where he is nominated for Gyllenhaal’s adapted screenplay and for Colman and Buckley in the acting categories.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s extraordinary awards season continued as his Japanese drama drive my car, released in the United States via Janus Films, was named best international film. Hulu’s soul summer won Best Documentary and Fran Kranz Massdistributed by Bleecker Street in the United States, won the Robert Altman Award for Best Ensemble.
In the acting categories, Apple’s Coda’s Troy Kotsur Coda bolstered his Oscar prospects following his recent SAG win with the supporting actor award on Sunday night. Ruth Negga won Best Supporting Actress for Netflix Who passed and A24 Films delivered top lead actor wins for Taylour Paige from Zola and Simon Rex of red rocket.
Netflix emerged with six awards, followed by A24 with three. The Spirit Awards traditionally take place the day before the Oscars, but this year took place three weeks prior due to scheduling complications resulting from the pandemic.
Full list of winners:
Movie categories
Best feature
The lost girl (Netflix)
Pdr: Charles Dorfman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman Keren, Talia Kleinhendler
Best Director
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The lost girl (Netflix)
Best Screenplay
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The lost girl (Netflix)
Best First Feature Film
7 days (Cinedigme)
Dir: Roshan Sethi
Pdrs: Liz Cardenas, Mel Eslyn
Best First Screenplay
Michael Sarnoski, Story of Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski, Pork (Neon)
John Cassavetes Award
(For best feature film made under $500,000)
Baby Shiva (Utopia)
Director: Emma Seligman
Pdrs: Kieran Altmann, Katie Schiller, Lizzie Shapiro
Best Supporting Woman
Ruth Nega, Who passed (Netflix)
Best Supporting Actor
Troy Kosur, Coda (Apple+)
Best Female Role
Taylor Paige, Zola (A24)
Best Male Lead
Simon Rex, red rocket (A24)
Robert Altman Award
Mass (Blecker Street)
Dir: Fran Kranz
Casting directors: Henry Russell Bergstein, Allison Estrin
Ensemble Cast: Kagen Albright, Reed Birney, Michelle N. Carter, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Breeda Wool
Best Cinematography
EduGrau, Who passed (Netflix)
Best Editing
Joi McMillon, Zola (A24)
Best International Film
drive my car (Sideshow in association with Janus Films)
Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Best Documentary
Summer Of Soul (…or, when the revolution couldn’t be televised) (Searchlight Pictures, Onyx Collective, Hulu)
Dir: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Pdrs: David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel
TV categories
Best New Scripted Series
Reservation dogs (FX)
Creators/EPs: Sterling Harjo, Taika Waititi
EP: Garrett Basch
Best New Unscripted Series or Documentary
black and missing (HBO/HBO Max)
Series by/EP’s: Soledad O’Brien, Geeta Gandbhir
EPs: Jo Honig, Patrick Conway, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series
Thuso Mbedu, The Underground Railroad (First video)
Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series
Lee Jung-jae, squid game (Netflix)
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Reservation dogs (FX)
Ensemble Cast: Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paulina Alexis, Sarah Podemski, Zahn McClarnon, Lil Mike, FunnyBone.
