41st Independent Spirit Awards


The 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films and television series of 2025, will be presented by Film Independent on February 15, 2026. The ceremony will take place at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California, and will be hosted by American actress and comedian Ego Nwodim. It will also stream live on the YouTube channels of both IMDb and Film Independent, and across Film Independent's social platforms.
The nominations were announced live via YouTube on December 3, 2025. Peter Hujar's Day led the film nominations with five; Adolescence, Forever, and Mr Loverman received the most television nominations with four apiece.
In May 2025, Film Independent announced that the ceremony venue will move from the Santa Monica Pier to the Hollywood Palladium. The move comes as Santa Monica, the longtime home of the Film Independent Spirit Awards, undergoes renovations.

Milestones

Unlike previous ceremonies, three animated projects were nominated for major categories this year: Endless Cookie for Best Documentary Feature, Common Side Effects for Best New Scripted Series, and Boys Go to Jupiter for the John Cassavetes Award.

Winners and nominees

Television

Best New Scripted SeriesBest New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
Adolescence – Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham ; Philip Barantini, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Nina Wolarsky, Hannah Walters, Mark Herbert, and Emily Feller ; Carina Sposato, Niall Shamma, and Peter Balm Common Side Effects – Joe Bennett and Steve Hely ; Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, Dustin Davis, James Merrill, Sean Buckelew, Benjy Brooke, Kelly Crews, and Suzanna Makkos ; Dave King Forever – Mara Brock Akil ; Regina King, Susie Fitzgerald, Shana C. Waterman, Reina King, Anthony Hemingway, Judy Blume, Erika Harrison, and Sara E. White ; Jerron Horton Mr Loverman – Lennie James, Hong Khaou, Jo McClellan, Faye Ward, Hannah Farrell, and Hannah Price North of North – Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril ; Garry Campbell, Anya Adams, Susan Coyne, and Miranda de Pencier ; Teresa M. Ho, Michael Goldbach, Kathryn Borel, and JP Larocque Citizen Nation – Bret Sigler ; Christopher Buck and Kyra Darnton Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time – Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Ryan Coogler, Myles Estey, Ted Skillman, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Peter Nicks, Kalia King, Carolyn Payne, and Sean David Johnson ; Kelli Buchanan Pee-wee as Himself – Matt Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, Kyle Martin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television – Issa Rae, Montrel McKay, John Maggio, Rachel Dretzin, John Ealer, Jonathan Berry, Dave Becky, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez ; Esther Dere and Zachary Herrmann Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae – Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow, Amy Kaufman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Riva Marker ; Mark Becker
Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted SeriesBest Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series

  • Ariyon Bakare – Mr Loverman as Morris De La Roux
  • Babou Ceesay – Alien: Earth as Morrow
  • Sharon D. Clarke – Mr Loverman as Carmel Walker
  • Taylor Dearden – The Pitt as Dr. Melissa "Mel" King
  • Erin Doherty – Adolescence as Briony Ariston
  • Stephen McKinley Henderson – A Man on the Inside as Calbert Graham
  • Poorna Jagannathan – Deli Boys as Lucky
  • Xosha Roquemore – Forever as Shelly
  • Jenny Slate – Dying for Sex as Nikki Boyer
  • Ben Whishaw – Black Doves as Sam Young
    • Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted SeriesBest Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
  • Asif Ali – Deli Boys as Mir Dar
  • Wally Baram – Overcompensating as Carmen Neil
  • Owen Cooper – Adolescence as Jamie Miller
  • Michael Cooper Jr. – Forever as Justin Edwards
  • Ernest Kingsley Junior – Washington Black as George Washington "Wash" Black
    		• Chief of War – Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale'o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, and James Udom

    Special awards

    John Cassavetes Award">Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award">John Cassavetes Award

    The Baltimorons – Jay Duplass ; Michael Strassner ; David Bonnett Jr. and Drew Langer Boys Go to Jupiter – Julian Glander Eephus – Carson Lund ; Michael Basta ; Nate Fisher ; David Entin and Tyler Taormina Esta Isla – Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones Molina ; Kisha Tikina Burgos Familiar Touch – Sarah Friedland ; Alexandra Byer and Matthew Thurm

    [Independent Spirit [Robert Altman Award|Robert Altman Award]]

    'The Long Walk'' – Director: Francis Lawrence; Casting Director: Rich Delia; Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, and Garrett Wareing'''

    Emerging Filmmakers Awards

    Producers Award

    The award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films.

    [Someone to Watch Award]

    The award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

    Truer than Fiction Award

    The award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.