This morning, Joel Kim Booster and Natalie Morales announced the nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards and we were once again reminded what an amazing year it has been for independent storytelling. Each project honored has pushed the craft of cinema forward, and we’re so excited that many of the nominees have been supported by the Sundance Institute through our artist programs and Film Festival.
Celine Song’s Past Lives continues to soar this awards season while Ira Sachs’ Passages and William Oldroyd’s Eileen — all 2023 Sundance Film Festival features — pick up several Spirit Award nods. The Truer Than Fiction category, which is “presented to an emerging director of nonfiction features who has not yet received significant recognition,” is also particularly exciting because it’s completely made up of Documentary Film Program–supported projects.
Read about all of our nominees below and learn more about our artist programs and Film Festival here. And make sure to root for these films on February 24, 2024, when the winners are announced under that Santa Monica tent!
BEST FEATURE
Passages — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
Past Lives — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
BEST FIRST FEATURE
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
Earth Mama — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
A Thousand and One — 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Screenwriters Lab, Directors Lab
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Fremont — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
Rotting in the Sun — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
BEST DIRECTOR
William Oldroyd, Eileen — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
Ira Sachs, Passages
Celine Song, Past Lives
BEST SCREENPLAY
Laura Moss, Brendan J. O’Brien, Birth/Rebirth — 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Screenwriters Lab, Directors Lab
Celine Song, Past Lives
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, Ben Platt, Theater Camp — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
Laurel Parmet, The Starling Girl — Screenwriters Intensive, Producers Lab, Catalyst, 2023 Sundance Film Festival
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Judy Reyes, Birth/Rebirth
Franz Rogowski, Passages
Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
Teo Yoo, Past Lives
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Noah Galvin, Theater Camp
Anne Hathaway, Eileen
Marin Ireland, Eileen
Catalina Saavedra, Rotting in the Sun
Ben Whishaw, Passages
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Tia Nomore, Earth Mama
Anaita Wali Zada, Fremont
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jomo Fray
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
BEST EDITING
Santiago Cendejas, Gabriel Díaz, Sofía Subercaseaux, Rotting in the Sun
Jon Philpot, Theater Camp
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project — 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Producers Program, Documentary Film Program
Kokomo City — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Mami Wata — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
PRODUCERS AWARD
Rachael Fung (Fremont, Little Woods)
Graham Swon (The Cathedral)
Monique Walton (Bull, Hollow Tree)
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Laura Moss, Birth/Rebirth
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Set Hernandez, unseen — Documentary Film Program
Jesse Short Bull, Laura Tomaselli, Lakota Nation vs. United States — Documentary Film Program
Sierra Urich, Joonam — Documentary Film Program, 2023 Sundance Film Festival
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Murder in Big Horn — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
