The Watchers

The Watchers
Showing posts with label independent spirit awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label independent spirit awards. Show all posts

Tuesday, 17 February 2026

Awards Season 2026: Directors Guild Awards (DGA) and Independent Spirit Awards Winners


A little bit of a catch-up on how the 2026 awards season has been going, as a couple of major awards have been handed out in the last few weeks. Here's all the news you may have missed:


DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS


On Saturday 7th February 2026, the Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) were handed out. The film winners are:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Films: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)

Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film: Charlie Polinger (The Plague)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary: Mstyslav Chernov (2000 Meters To Andriivka)

This didn't feel like a surprise, to be honest. Anderson has been a standout winner throughout this awards season (and rightly so), so it feels like another step on the path to Oscar night. 

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INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS


On Sunday 15th February 2026, the 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards- recognising films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system- took place.

Here's a full list of film winners. 


Best Feature: Train Dreams

Best Lead Performance: Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You)

Best Supporting Performance: Naomi Ackie (Sorry, Baby)

Best Breakthrough Performance: Kayo Martin (The Plague)

Best Director: Clint Bentley (Train Dreams)

Best Screenplay: Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby)

Best First Screenplay: Alex Russell (Lurker)

Best Cinematography: Train Dreams

Best Editing: The Testament Of Ann Lee

Best First Feature: Lurker

Best International Film: The Secret Agent

Best Documentary: The Perfect Neighbor

John Cassavetes Award: This Island (Esta Isla)

Robert Altman Award: The Long Walk

The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1 million, whilst the Robert Altman Award is presented to the ensemble cast of the movie, its director, and its casting director(s). 

Train Dreams was the big winner of the evening with three awards, whilst Sorry, Baby and Lurker walked away with two apiece. Despite multiple nominations, Peter Hujar's Day, Blue Sun Palace, One Of Them Days and Twinless didn't win anything. 

Congratulations to all winners!


The next major awards news will come this weekend (Sunday 22nd February) with this year's BAFTA Film Awards. I'll update on those as soon as I can after the ceremony. 

Monday, 24 February 2025

Awards Season 2025: Independent Spirit Awards and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards Winners

More awards season nonsense took place over this past weekend, so here are the results from those two star-studded events.



INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS


On Saturday 22nd February 2025 , the 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards- recognising films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system- took place.

Here's a full list of film winners. 

Best Feature: Anora

Best Lead Performance: Mikey Madison (Anora)

Best Supporting Performance: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

Best Breakthrough Performance: Maisy Stella (My Old Ass)

Best Director: Sean Baker (Anora)

Best Screenplay: Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain) 

Best First Screenplay: Sean Wang (Didi)

Best Cinematography: Nickel Boyss

Best Editing: September 5

Best First Feature: Didi

Best International Film: Flow

Best Documentary: No Other Land

John Cassavetes Award: Girls Will Be Girls

Robert Altman Award: His Three Daughters


The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1 million, whilst the Robert Altman Award is presented to the ensemble cast of the movie, its director, and its casting director(s). 

Anora was the big winner of the evening, with three awards. A Real Pain and Didi both won two. 

Anora is really starting to make strides; with its wins at both PGA and DGA, and Mikey Madison's surprise BAFTA win, it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that there might be an "upset" come next Sunday. 

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SCREEN ACTORS GUILD (SAG) AWARDS


The 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards were held on Sunday 23rd February in a ceremony which streamed live on Netflix, hosted by Kristen Bell. 

Here are the film winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Conclave

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Demi Moore (The Substance)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
The Fall Guy


Unlike last year's Oppenheimer sweep, this had a bit more of an "all shall have prizes" feel about it (which is pretty much the theme of this year's awards season; whilst the same performances might be getting recognised a lot, they're all coming from different places so it's good to have that variety). 

I'm really pleased to see Conclave win the Best Cast award, as it is a superb ensemble. Timothée Chalamet's win chucks a nice little curveball, although it feels unlikely that the Academy is going to follow suit (Adrien Brody's probably going to have another Little Naked Gold Man). Best Actress now feels like it's a two-horse race between Mikey Madison and Demi Moore, whilst I think we can safely say the supporting categories are as locked in as they can be. 

The stone-cold icon that is Jane Fonda was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and gave a barnstorming acceptance speech in which she said “Empathy is not weak or ‘woke.’ And, by the way, ‘woke’ just means you give a damn about other people”. Yassss, queen! 

Congratulations to all winners!


So, we are getting down to the sharp end of awards season 2025, with just the Razzies and the Oscars to go next weekend. 

Wednesday, 4 December 2024

Awards Season 2025: Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations


It's been a busy couple of months for Watchers Productions, as we've ventured into the world of theatre and are putting on a play. Twinkle - a one-man show about a vengeful pantomime dame - will hit the stage in Cardiff next week. Tickets are available here. It's a perfect alternative Christmas night out for those of you who like your festive entertainment a little darker. 


Anyway, with all this going on, I'm sure the handful of awards season aficionados will forgive me for letting this creep up on me. 

Today (Wednesday 4th December) saw the announcement of the nominees for the 40th Independent Spirit Awards. The nominations were announced via YouTube video by Cooper Hopkins and Lauren Melton. You will no doubt be aware by now that these awards recognise films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system. 

Below is a selection of nominations:

Best Feature
Anora
I Saw The TV Glow
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
The Substance

Best Director
Ali Abbasi (The Apprentice)
Sean Baker (Anora)
Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)
Alonso Ruizpalacios (La Cocina)
Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw The TV Glow) 

Best Lead Performance
Amy Adams (Nightbitch)
Ryan Destiny (The Fire Inside)
Colman Domingo (Sing Sing) 
Keith Kupferer (Ghostlight) 
Mikey Madison (Anora) 
Demi Moore (The Substance) 
Hunter Schafer (Cuckoo) 
Justice Smith (I Saw The TV Glow) 
June Squibb (Thelma) 
Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) 

Best Supporting Performance
Yura Borisov (Anora) 
Joan Chen (Didi)
Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) 
Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson)
Carol Kane (Between The Temples) 
Karren Karagulian (Anora) 
Kani Kusruti (Girls Will Be Girls)
Brigette Lundy-Paine (I Saw The TV Glow)
Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin (Sing Sing) 
Adam Pearson (A Different Man) 

A full list of nominees can be found here.


Anora (a romantic comedy-drama about the whirlwind marriage between a Brooklyn stripper [Mikey Madison] and the dissolute son of a Russian oligarch [Mark Eydelshteyn], which won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival) and I Saw The TV Glow (a psychological horror about two troubled high school students [Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine] whose connection to their favourite TV show - The Pink Opaque - leads them to question their realities) lead the field with six nominations apiece. 

There are some interesting nominations in the television categories. Shogun leads the way with five nods, with Baby Reindeer and English Teacher both getting four. However, what surprised me were the three nominations for Agatha All Along (rightly recognising the stellar work of Kathryn Hahn, Patti LuPone, and Joe Locke) and a very well-deserved nomination for Cristin Miloti for her superb performance as Sofia Falcone in The Penguin. Andrew Scott also gets a nod for Ripley, which is nice. 

The 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony will take place at the usual Santa Monica beachside tent on 22nd February 2025, hosted by Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live, Human Resources, The Big Sick) for the second year in a row. 

Congratulations to all the nominees!


As I didn't get a chance to do my usual "For Your Consideration" post, I'm going to include the important dates here. The timetable for the major movie awards in 2025 is as follows:

Golden Globes
Nominations announced: 9th December 2024
Awards ceremony: 5th January 2025 (hosted by Nikki Glaser)

Critics' Choice Award
Nominations announced: 12th December 2024
Awards ceremony: 12th January 2025 (hosted by Chelsea Handler)

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards
Nominations announced: 8th January 2025
Awards ceremony: 23rd February 2025

Directors' Guild Of America (DGA) Award
Nominations announced: 8th January 2025
Awards ceremony: 8th February 2025

Writers' Guild Of America (PGA) Award
Nominations announced: 9th January 2025
Awards ceremony: 15th February 2025

Producers' Guild Of America (PGA) Award
Nominations announced: 10th January 2025
Awards ceremony: 8th February 2025

BAFTA Film Awards
Nominations announced: 15th January 2025
Awards ceremony: 16th February 2025

Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies)
Nominations announced: 16th January 2025
Awards ceremony: 1st March 2025

The 97th Academy Awards (Oscars)
Nominations announced: 17th January 2025
Awards ceremony: 2nd March 2025 (hosted by Conan O'Brien)


So, as a very wise lizard woman from the dawn of time once said,

Monday, 26 February 2024

Awards Season 2024: Awards Winners Round-Up


Due to a combination of factors (don't you just hate it when life gets in the way?), I've not been up to updating the awards season tracker. But time stands still for no nerd, which means that in the meantime, no less than five (yes, five) of the major awards bodies have handed out their gold/silver/glassware. 

So brace yourself for a positive deluge of awards results, and get ready to see a lot of the same names over and over again. Let's begin!



DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS


On Saturday 10th February 2024, the Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) were handed out. 
The film winners are:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Films: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director: Celine Song (Past Lives) 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary: Mstyslav Chernov (20 Days In Mariupol)



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BAFTA FILM AWARDS


On Sunday 18th February 2024, the 77th British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony, hosted for the first time by David Tennant (who made for a very affable and enjoyable host). 

Here's a full list of BAFTA winners.


Best Film: Oppenheimer

Outstanding British Film: The Zone Of Interest

Leading Actor: Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)

Leading Actress: Emma Stone (Poor Things)

Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

Director: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

Original Screenplay: Anatomy Of A Fall

Adapted Screenplay: American Fiction

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Savanah Leaf (writer/director/producer), Shirley O’Connor (producer), Medb Riordan (producer) (Earth Mama)

Animated Film: The Boy And The Heron

Documentary: 20 Days In Mariupol

Film Not In The English Language: The Zone Of Interest

Cinematography: Oppenheimer

Costume Design: Poor Things

Editing: Oppenheimer

Make Up And Hair: Poor Things

Original Music: Oppenheimer

Production Design: Poor Things

Sound: The Zone Of Interest

Special Visual Effects: Poor Things

Casting: The Holdovers

Short Animation: Crab Day

Short Film: Jellyfish And Lobster

Rising Star: Mia McKenna-Bruce

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: June Givanni

BAFTA Fellowship: Samantha Morton


Oppenheimer took home the most awards, winning seven; Poor Things wins five, and The Zone Of Interest wins three. 



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SCREEN ACTORS GUILD (SAG) AWARDS


The 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards were held on Saturday 24th February in a ceremony which streamed live on Netflix and hosted by Idris Elba.

Here are the film winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Oppenheimer

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Lily Gladstone (Killers Of The Flower Moon)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Three awards for Oppenheimer, including the SAG-equivalent of Best Picture, makes them the big winner of the night. Lily Gladstone's win here will be very welcome in keeping her Oscar hopes alive. 

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PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS (PGA)


The 35th Producers Guild Awards (PGA) were handed out on Sunday 25th February. The film winners are:

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: Oppenheimer

Documentary Film: American Symphony

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse



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INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS

Also on Sunday 25th February, the 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards- recognising films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system- took place.

Here's a full list of film winners. 

Best Feature: Past Lives

Best Lead Performance: Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)

Best Supporting Performance: Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

Best Breakthrough Performance: Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers)

Best Director: Celine Song (Past Lives)

Best Screenplay: Cord Jefferson (American Fiction)

Best First Screenplay: Samy Burch (screenplay); Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik (story) (May December)

Best Cinematography: The Holdovers

Best Editing: How To Blow Up A Pipeline

Best First Feature: A Thousand And One

Best International Film: Anatomy Of A Fall

Best Documentary: Four Daughters

John Cassavetes Award: Fremont

Robert Altman Award: Showing Up

The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1 million, whilst the Robert Altman Award is presented to the ensemble cast of the movie, its director, and its casting director(s). 

The Holdovers was the biggest winner of the night, with three awards; Past Lives and American Fiction took home two apiece. 

Congratulations to all winners!




So, after all of this is taken into consideration, where does it look like the awards season is headed, as we get into the home strait with only the Razzies and the Oscars left to announce? From my position, this is what I'm thinking: 
  • Oppenheimer looks to be in a strong position to win Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. 
  • Da'Vine Joy Randolph is almost certainly going to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
  • It feels like a two-horse race between Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone for Best Actress, but I'd say Gladstone's SAG win puts her slightly ahead.
  • Barbie's best chance of any kind of Oscar win is almost certainly Best Original Song, although it may also get several of the technical awards (if they don't go to Poor Things or Oppenheimer)
  • There's a couple of films that were low on my radar that I really need to get to watch!

The next- and indeed final- weekend of the 2024 awards season comes on the weekend of 9th/10th March with the Razzies and the Oscars announced that weekend. 
 

Tuesday, 5 December 2023

Awards Season 2024: Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations


Well, this snuck up on me (as the actress said to the bishop). 


Life has properly got in the way and I didn't realise that Awards Season 2024 had officially begun. But it has, so I'm playing just a little bit of catch-up. 

Today (Tuesday 5th December) saw the announcement of the nominees for the 39th Independent Spirit Awards. The nominations were announced by Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island, Big Mouth, Psychosexual) and Natalie Morales (The Little Things, No Hard Feelings, Santa Clarita Diet). 

You will no doubt be aware by now that these awards recognise films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system. Last year, the eligibility budget was raised to $30 million dollars, and gender-neutral acting categories were introduced. 

Below is a selection of nominations:

Best Feature
All Of Us Strangers
American Fiction
May December
Passages
Past Lives
We Grown Now

Best Director
Andrew Haigh (All Of Us Strangers)
Todd Haynes (May December)
William Oldroyd (Eileen)
Celine Song (Past Lives)
Ira Sachs (Passages)

Best Lead Performance
Jessica Chastain (Memory)
Greta Lee (Past Lives)
Trace Lysette (Monica)
Natalie Portman (May December)
Judy Reyes (Birth/Rebirth)
Franz Rogowski (Passages)
Andrew Scott (All Of Us Strangers)
Teyana Taylor (A Thousand And One)
Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)
Teo Yoo (Past Lives)

Best Supporting Performance
Erika Alexander (American Fiction)
Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction)
Noah Galvin (Theater Camp)
Anne Hathaway (Eileen)
Glenn Howerton (BlackBerry)
Marin Ireland (Eileen)
Charles Melton (May December)
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)
Catalina Saavedra (Rotting In The Sun)
Ben Whishaw (Passages)

A full list of nominees can be found here.


Past Lives (a romantic drama about two childhood friends [Greta Lee and Teo Yoo] who reunite twenty years after one of them emigrates from South Korea to Canada), American Fiction (a comedy-drama in which a frustrated Black novelist [Jeffrey Wright] uses a pen-name to write an outrageous "Black" book as a joke, only to find it being critically lauded), and May December (a drama in which a married couple's [Julianne Moore and Charles Melton] controversial relationship begins to buckle when an actress [Natalie Portman] meets them to do some research for a film about their lives) lead the pack with five nominations apiece.

Passages (a controversial drama where a gay couple [Franz Rogowski and Ben Whishaw] find their relationship in crisis when one begins an affair with a woman) and The Holdovers (a comedy-drama where a history teacher [Paul Giamatti] at a remote school is forced to remain on campus over Christmas with a troubled student who has nowhere to go) received four each.

The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony will take place at the usual Santa Monica beachside tent on 24th February 2024, hosted by Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live, Human Resources, The Big Sick).

Congratulations to all the nominees!


As I didn't get a chance to do my usual "For Your Consideration" post, I'm going to include the important dates here. So, the timetable for the rest of the major awards in 2024 is as follows:

Golden Globes
Nominations announced: 11th December 2023
Awards ceremony: 7th January 2024

Critics' Choice Award
Nominations announced: 13th December 2023
Awards ceremony: 14th January 2024

Directors' Guild Of America (DGA) Award
Nominations announced: 10th January 2024
Awards ceremony: 17th February 2024

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards
Nominations announced: 10th January 2024
Awards ceremony: 24th February 2024

Producers' Guild Of America (PGA) Award
Nominations announced: 12th January 2024
Awards ceremony: 25th February 2024

BAFTA Film Awards
Nominations announced: 18th January 2024
Awards ceremony: 18th February 2024

Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies)
Nominations announced: 22nd January 2024
Awards ceremony: 9th March 2024

Academy Awards (Oscars)
Nominations announced: 23rd January 2024
Awards ceremony: 10th March 2024 (hosted by Jimmy Kimmel)

Let the fun begin!

Sunday, 5 March 2023

Awards Season 2023: Independent Spirit Awards Winners


Last night (Saturday 4th March) the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards- recognising films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system- took place.

Last year's ceremony took place three weeks before the Academy Awards (rather than its traditional Oscar Eve date). This year, it is taking place eight days before but- crucially- whilst the final stage of Oscars voting is still open (it closes on Tuesday 7th March).  

Streaming live via YouTube, the awards were handed out in an in-person event at the traditional white beachside tent in Santa Monica, with comedian Hasan Minhaj (Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj, The King's Jester, Homecoming King) hosting. 


Here's a full list of film winners. 

Best Feature: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Lead Performance: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Supporting Performance: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Breakthrough Performance: Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Screenplay: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best First Screenplay: John Patton Ford (Emily The Criminal)

Best Cinematography: Tár

Best Editing: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best First Feature: Aftersun

Best International Film: Joyland

Best Documentary: All The Beauty And The Bloodshed

John Cassavetes Award: The Cathedral

Robert Altman Award: Women Talking


The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1 million (increased this year from $500,000) whilst the Robert Altman Award is presented to the ensemble cast of the movie, its director, and its casting director(s). 

With an astounding seven wins, Everything Everywhere All At Once made Spirit Awards history by winning the most awards for a single film ever. It also swept every category it was nominated for (gaining two nominations in the gender-neutral Best Supporting Performance category, with both Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis recognised for their performances). A frankly phenomenal achievement. 

Congratulations to all winners!

We're almost there, the summit is in sight. Next weekend is the big one- the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday 12th March. Prior to that, of course, there's the fun of the Razzies which have remained at their traditional Eve of the Giving Out of the Naked Little Golden Men. You certainly won't be hearing Everything Everywhere All At Once mentioned there...

 

Tuesday, 22 November 2022

Awards Season 2023: Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations


Today (Tuesday 22nd November) saw the announcement of the nominees for the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards, announced by Taylour Paige (
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Zola) and Raúl Castillo (The Inspection, Army Of The Dead).  

As you're probably aware by now, these awards recognise films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system. From this year, the budget for eligible films has been increased to $30 million. 

Also, from this year, the Film Independent Spirit Awards are making their acting categories (for both film and television) gender neutral; for the film awards, the categories will be Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Performance (with up to ten nominees in each category). 

Below is a selection of nominations:

Best Feature
Bones And All
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Our Father, The Devil
Tár
Women Talking

Best Director
Todd Field (Tár)
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 (Tár)
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)
Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie)
Taylor Russell (Bones And All)
Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Supporting Performance
Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once)
Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway)
Nina Hoss (Tár)
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)

A full list of nominees can be found here.


Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the field with eight nominations; Tár has seven, whilst Aftersun has five. 

The Film Independent Spirit Awards will be given out in a ceremony on the Santa Monica beachfront on Saturday 4th March 2023.  

Congratulations to all nominees!

So, we are off again on the awards trail. Next stop is in a couple of weeks with the Golden Globe nominations. 

Monday, 21 November 2022

For Your Consideration: Possible Contenders For Awards Season 2023


Well, it's about that time again... Last year, awards season crept up on me and took be my surprise (ooer, missus!). This year... I'm ready. Well, more ready than I was. 

So the awards hoopla starts tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd November) when the Film Independent Spirit Awards announce their nominees, so I thought I'd have my (mostly) annual look at the films I expect to see mentioned over the upcoming months. 

Hollywood likes movies about movies, and movies about movie-making. They're awards catnip. So it's no surprise that there are several of them in contention for this year.


Steven Spielberg's autobiographical family drama The Fabelmans is the kind of film awards were made for, and it seems very likely indeed he'll be on track to win his third Best Director Oscar. A drama about a young aspiring filmmaker (played by Gabriel LaBelle) dealing with family secrets, the performances by Michelle Williams (as mother Mitzi), Paul Dano (as father Burt), and Judd Hirsch (as Uncle Boris) have all been praised. 


Set in the 1980s in an English coastal town,
Empire Of Light sees a cinema manager (Olivia Colman) and a new employee (Micheal Ward) gain a sense of belonging as they experience the power of what cinema can actually do. Sam Mendes directs and writes the screenplay, whilst the performances by Colman and Toby Jones (as the cinema projectionist) have got attention. 


Finally, let's go back to where it all began. The early days of Hollywood, in all its vivid excess and delicious debauchery, is the setting for Babylon, Damien Chazelle's latest film. Set in the late 1920s to 1930s- as cinema was going from silent films to talkies, and a new production code was being brought in to stymy the more transgressive content- it has a stellar cast, led by Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, and some truly sumptuous visuals. Definitely one to keep in mind. 


I never thought I'd ever write the words "Colin Farrell" and "Oscar nomination" in the same sentence, but thanks to his frankly stunning performance in Martin McDonagh's blackly comic
The Banshees Of Inisherin, it's looking more likely. Set on a remote Irish island in the early 1920s, Farrell plays Padraig, a dull but likeable-enough fellow, whose good friend Colum (Brendan Gleeson) suddenly stops talking to him one day. Padraig's confusion at this, and the drastic measures Colum will go to to make sure it is a permanent thing, make for a heady mix of laugh-out-loud comedy and some pathos. Gleeson's performance is similarly strong, whilst there's superb support from Kerry Condon as Padraig's sister Siobhan and Barry Keoghan as island resident Dominic.


Cate Blanchett's formidable performance in Tár, a contemporary drama written and directed by Todd Field (In The Bedroom, Little Children), saw her win the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, and may well see her win her third Oscar for playing Lydia, a composer-conductor whose life and career fall apart when she is accused of grooming a former female student. 


Brendan Fraser is rightly back in the limelight for his extraordinary performance in The Whale. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem For A Dream) with a screenplay by Samuel D. Hunter- who adapts his own stage play- The Whale is a drama about a reclusive and morbidly obese teacher named Charlie who wishes to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Screening after screening has ended with standing ovations and a lot of praise for Fraser's central performance, along with the supporting turns by Sadie Sink as his daughter Ellie and Hong Chau as his friend Liz. Based on the trailer, I have a nagging feeling that this is going to be one of those films where the actors are very good in an overall production that might not be, but I'll reserve judgement until I see it.  


Actress-turned-director Sarah Polley will surely be getting some awards recognition for Women Talking, her adaptation of Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name. Set in an isolated Mennonite colony, eight female members of the community come together after the shocking truth about what the men of the colony have been doing is revealed. There's a strong ensemble cast- including Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Frances McDormand, and Ben Whishaw- and the weighty themes of faith and control are sure to get people talking. 


Historical epic
The Woman King tells the story of an all-female warrior unit who protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin) during the 17th- to 19th centuries. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, The Old Guard), Viola Davis gives a fierce performance as Agojie General Nanisca who helps to train the next generation of warriors. As well as Davis' performance, the action choreography has also garnered a lot of praise. 


Florian Zeller's emotional drama The Father caused a bit of an Oscars upset a couple of years ago when Anthony Hopkins took home Best Actor instead of the assumed winner, the late Chadwick Boseman. Zeller's follow-up film, The Son, may seek to make such an impression again. Hugh Jackman is in the lead as a man whose busy life with his new partner gets disrupted when his ex-wife turns up with his teenage son in tow. Vanessa Kirby and Laura Dern play the two women in his life, while Hopkins reunites with Zeller to play Peter's father. 


Two cannibals fall in love and go on a road trip. Now I've got your attention... Bones And All is the latest film by Luca Guadagnino (Suspiria; Call Me By Your Name). Timothée Chalamet reunites with Guadagnino to play Lee, the charismatic young man who falls for Maren (played by Taylor Russell). Whilst the mix of horror, road movie, coming-of-age drama, and romance might be too much for some, the performances have been getting attention, especially that of Mark Rylance, who plays the mysterious Sully. 


It wasn't just Doctor Strange who went into a multiverse of madness this year. In the Daniels' truly mindbending
Everything Everywhere All At Once, so did Michelle Yeoh. She's been getting some of the best reviews of her career for her performance as Evelyn, an overworked laundromat owner whose life alters when a multiversal rift opens during a hostile meeting with an IRS auditor. As well as Yeoh's central performance, the supporting performances by Ke Huy Quan (as Evelyn's husband Waymond) and Jamie Lee Curtis (as the auditor Deirdre) have also been praised. Perhaps all three will see their names mentioned as awards season churns on?


Rian Johnson's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery could do well. The original Knives Out was a stunning take on the well-worn murder mystery genre, and- by the looks of things- Glass Onion will be no different. An eclectic group of "disruptors" head to a private island for a weekend of fun and games; along with them is gentleman detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). A strong ensemble cast- featuring Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Janelle Monáe, and Dave Bautista- are among the suspects this time round. I'm very much looking forward to this.


Biopics tend to do well at awards time, so here's a couple of names you might get to know very well indeed over the next few months:


Blonde: despite some controversy over the film's presentation of Marilyn Monroe, Ana de Armas' performance has been praised - it's a pretty full Best Actress category this year, so she may just squeak in (or she may miss out). 

Elvis: to play such a cultural icon as Elvis Presley is to take a huge weight on your shoulders, and Austin Butler's portrayal of the King has been lauded. Expect to see him in Best Actor contention. 

 
Till: Danielle Deadwyler (The Harder They Fall, Gifted) could well see her first Best Actress nod for playing Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of 1950s lynching victim Emmett Till, who pursued justice for her son's murder. 

She Said: films like All The President's Men, Spotlight, and The Post all show the importance of the press in thei bringing to light of corruption, abuse, and wrongdoing. She Said- directed by Maria Schrader- is based on the New York Times investigation by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan) into the predatory behaviour of movie producer Harvey Weinstein which brought him down and kickstarted the #MeToo movement. 


I Wanna Dance With Somebody: British actress Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, Lady Macbeth) takes on the mantle of the late, great Whitney Houston in this slick biopic written by Anthony McCarten (The Theory Of Everything, The Two Popes) and directed by Kasi Lemmons (Harriet, Eve's Bayou)

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story: could this anarchic parody of the biopic be too rich for the blood of your average awards panels? It's likely, but there's no denying the dedication that Daniel Radcliffe has to play Weird Al Yankovic. Evan Rachel Wood's performance as Madonna has also raised some eyebrows. It'll be interesting to see what (if any) awards traction this gets.  



A pair of British films which you might see mentioned a lot are Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and Living. In the latter, Bill Nighy gives what has been described as "a career-best performance" as a buttoned-down bureaucrat dealing with a terminal illness in an English-language remake of Kurosawa's Ikiru (with a screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro). The former sees Emma Thompson as a widowed former teacher seeking to explore her sexuality by hiring a sex worker (Daryl McCormack). It's rare to see a film that deals with an older woman's sexual desires, let alone one that explores the subject without judgement or criticism. It's not certain if the films will travel well (meaning most likely you'll see them at BAFTA). 
  

Three big blockbusters may well be in awards contention too. But will any of Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way Of Water, or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever get a Best Picture nod? Both the original Avatar and Black Panther did in their respective years, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility. [Full disclosure: of the three I've only seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and have less than no interest in seeing Dances With Smurfs 2]. All three will doubtlessly feature heavily in the craft awards, with Production Design, Visual Effects, Sound, and Costume nods expected. I also fully expect to see "Hold My Hand" (Top Gun: Maverick) and "Lift Me Up" (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) in the Best Original Song categories. 



From this year, the Film Independent Spirit Awards are making their acting categories (for both film and television) gender neutral; for the film awards, the categories will be Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Performance (with up to ten nominees in each category). 

The timetable for the major awards in 2023 is as follows:

Film Independent Spirit Awards
Nominations announced: 22nd November 2022
Awards ceremony: 4th March 2023

Golden Globes
Nominations announced: 12th December 2022
Awards ceremony: 10th January 2023

Critics' Choice Awards
Nominations announced: 14th December 2022
Awards ceremony: 15th January 2023

Directors' Guild Of America (DGA) Award
Nominations announced: 11th January 2023
Awards ceremony: 18th February 2023

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards
Nominations announced: 11th January 2023
Awards ceremony: 26th February 2023

Producers' Guild Of America (PGA) Award
Nominations announced: 12th January 2023
Awards ceremony: 25th February 2023

BAFTA Film Awards
Nominations announced: 19th January 2023
Awards ceremony: 19th February 2023

Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies)
Nominations announced: 23rd January 2023
Awards ceremony: 11th March 2023

Academy Awards (Oscars)
Nominations announced: 24th January 2023
Awards ceremony: 12th March 2023 (hosted by Jimmy Kimmel)


Quite a busy few months ahead, so - as a very wise animated meerkat one said-