And just like that, awards season is upon us.
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The 2023 Independent Spirit Awards film nominations were announced on Tuesday and there are several stand-out Black projects being recognized. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Film Independent has changed the Best Actor/Actress and Best Supporting Actor/Actress categories to the gender-neutral Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Performance, which each have 10 nominees.
Two of our favorites are up for Best Lead Performance, with Regina Hall receiving well-deserved recognition for her sublime work in Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul, and Jeremy Pope getting a nod for his heart-wrenching performance in The Inspection. Taylor Russell is also up for the same award for the critically-acclaimed Bones and All. Elegance Bratton’s beautiful film, The Inspection, is also nominated for Best First Feature and national treasure Gabrielle Union received a nod for Best Supporting Performance. I truly hope this is the first step in a long awards season run for the actress/producer. Among the star-studded crowd, Union is up against for Best Supporting Performance is Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway, Theo Rossi in Emily the Criminal and Trevante Rhodes in Bruiser.
While I’m thrilled to see these awesome performers get their due, as usual, there really should be more. Both Aftershock and Descendant are missing from the Best Documentary category and it would have been great to see Regina’s partner-in-crime, Sterling K. Brown, get a nod for his work as a desperate, over-the-top pastor in Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the spectacular Everything Everywhere All at Once, which leads all nominees with eight. Michelle Yeoh is just amazing and I can’t recommend this film enough. It definitely belongs on your 2022 end-of-the-year binge list.
The 2023 Independent Spirit Awards take place on March 4 at the beach near the Santa Monica Pier.
Notable Independent Spirit Awards nominees:
Best Feature
Bones and All
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Our Father, the Devil
Tar
Women Talking
Best Director
Todd Field – Tar
Kogonada – After Yang
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Sarah Polley – Women Talking
Halina Reijn – Bodies Bodies Bodies
Best Lead Performance
Cate Blanchett – Tar
Dale Dickey – A Love Song
Mia Goth – Pearl
Regina Hall – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul
Paul Mescal – Aftersun
Aubrey Plaza – Emily the Criminal
Jeremy Pope – The Inspection
Taylor Russell – Bones and All
Andrea Riseborough – To Leslie
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Supporting Performance
Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway
Nina Hoss – Tar
Brian D’Arcy James – The Cathedral
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Trevante Rhodes – Bruiser
Theo Rossi – Emily the Criminal
Mark Rylance – Bones and All
Jonathan Tucker – Palm Trees and Power Lines
Gabrielle Union – The Inspection
Best Screenplay
After Yang
Catherine Called Birdy
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Tar
Women Talking
Best First Screenplay
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Emergency
Emily the Criminal
Fire Island
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Best First Feature
Aftersun
Emily the Criminal
The Inspection
Murina
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Documentary
House Made of Splinters
All that Breathes
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Midwives
Riotsville, U.S.A.
Best Breakthrough Performance
Frankie Corio – Aftersun
Garcija Filipovic – Murina
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Lilly McInerny – Palm Trees and Power Lines
Daniel Zolghardi – Funny Pages
Someone to Watch Award
Adamma Ebo – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul
Nikyatu Jusu – Nanny
Araceli Lemos – Holy Emy
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