My Independent Spirit Ballot


 

For the first time this year I'm a member of Film Independent and get to cast a vote for the Independent Spirit Awards. Voting closes officially tomorrow, and below is my ballot for this year's list of nominees. We'll find out who the winners are in March!

BEST FEATURE

A CHIARA

C’MON C’MON

THE LOST DAUGHTER

THE NOVICE

ZOLA

My Pick: Some great options here, but I'm going with The Lost Daughter


BEST FIRST FEATURE

7 DAYS

HOLLER

QUEEN OF GLORY

TEST PATTERN

WILD INDIAN

My Pick: I'm going with a film I saw through Film Independent that I found delightful, and that's 7 Days. I loved the story and cast, and I loved the way it put all those things together.


BEST DIRECTOR

Janicza Bravo, Zola

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter

Lauren Hadaway, The Novice

Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon

Ninja Thyberg, Pleasure

My Pick: This is another tough one, but I'm going with Maggie Gyllenhaal for her excellent work on The Lost Daughter.


BEST SCREENPLAY

Nikole Beckwith, Together Together

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter

Janicza Bravo, Jeremy O. Harris, Zola

Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon

Todd Stephens, Swan Song

My Pick: Spreading the love a bit, I'm going with Mills for C'mon C'mon. It was a close pick for me in Feature and Director, but I'm giving it the edge in screenplay.


BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr., Wild Indian

Shatara Michelle Ford, Test Pattern

Fran Kranz, Mass

Matt Fifer, Sheldon D. Brown, Cicada

Michael Sarnoski, Vanessa Block, Pig

My Pick: If you follow me, you know this is an easy call. I love Mass, and so I'm going with Kranz.


JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; Award given to the writer, director and producer)

CRYPTOZOO

JOCKEY

SHIVA BABY

SWEET THING

THIS IS NOT A WAR STORY

My Pick: I loved the humor and storytelling in Shiva Baby, so it gets my vote.


BEST MALE LEAD

Clifton Collins Jr., Jockey

Frankie Faison, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

Michael Greyeyes, Wild Indian

Udo Kier, Swan Song

Simon Rex, Red Rocket

My Pick: The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain was wildly under-rated. Faison gets my vote and I hope his work, and this film, gets more love.


BEST FEMALE LEAD

Isabelle Fuhrman, The Novice

Brittany S. Hall, Test Pattern

Patti Harrison, Together Together

Taylour Paige, Zola

Kali Reis, Catch the Fair One

My Pick: Fuhrman's intensity was something to behold. She gets my vote.


BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Colman Domingo, Zola

Meeko Gattuso, Queen of Glory

Troy Kotsur, CODA

Will Patton, Sweet Thing

Chaske Spencer, Wild Indian

My Pick: One of the toughest calls for me between Domingo and Kotsur. Both performances are powerful, but ultimately I'm going with Kotsur, who was beautiful in my favorite film of the year.


BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter

Amy Forsyth, The Novice

Ruth Negga, Passing

Revika Reustle, Pleasure

Suzanna Son, Red Rocket

My Pick: Ruth Negga was magical in Passing, another under-rated gem of a film.


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Lol Crawley, The Humans

Tim Curtin, A Chiara

Edu Grau, Passing

Ante Cheng, Matthew Chuang, Blue Bayou

Ari Wegner, Zola

My Pick: With it's gorgeous black-and-white, I loved the look in Passing. Edu Grau gets my vote.


BEST EDITING

Affonso Gonçalves, A Chiara

Ali Greer, The Nowhere Inn

Joi McMillon, Zola

Enrico Natale, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

Lauren Hadaway, Nathan Nugent, The Novice

My Pick: There was something intense in The Novice. I'm going with Hadaway and Nugent.


BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

COMPARTMENT NO. 6 (Finland/Russia)

DRIVE MY CAR (Japan)

PARALLEL MOTHERS (Spain)

PEBBLES (India)

PETITE MAMAN (France)

PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN (Mexico)

My Pick: I could make a strong case for either Drive My Car or Parallel Mothers, but I felt the emotional weight of Mothers more, so it's getting my vote.


BEST DOCUMENTARY

ASCENSION

FLEE

IN THE SAME BREATH

PROCESSION

SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)

My Pick: I loved Summer of Soul, so it's getting my vote here.

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