'Anora' wins at an emotionally charged Spirit Awards

Continuing to physique momentum arsenic grant play nears its conclusion, “Anora” won 3 prizes astatine the Film Independent Spirit Awards connected Saturday afternoon, including champion feature. The movie was besides recognized for manager Sean Baker and pb show for Mikey Madison.

Kieran Culkin won for supporting show for “A Real Pain,” portion Jesse Eisenberg won for the film’s screenplay.

The victor of the Spirit Award for champion diagnostic has gone connected to triumph the Oscar for champion representation successful 4 of the past 10 years. And successful 2023 and 2024, the 2 years since the Spirit Awards switched to gender-neutral acting categories with 10 nominees each, the victor for supporting show has gone connected to triumph the Oscar, portion the victor of the pb show grant has been nominated for an Oscar but lost.

In the tv categories, “Shōgun” won champion caller scripted series, portion “Baby Reindeer” swept the performing prizes with 3 wins.

In her opening monologue, big Aidy Bryant referred to the lawsuit arsenic “Hollywood’s 3rd oregon 4th biggest night,” capturing the relaxed, low-pressure ambiance befitting an day ceremonial held successful an oversize structure adjacent the formation successful Santa Monica.

With a fig of awards shows postponed successful the aftermath of the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles past month, determination person often been awkward moments astatine events, arsenic presenters and hosts conflict to find the close code that inactive allows for a consciousness of celebration.

“I bash privation to admit that I cognize it feels a small silly to person an awards amusement now, but your films are important to people,” said Bryant. “Independent movie is passionate radical moving unneurotic to physique thing better. And who amended to assistance rebuild the metropolis of Los Angeles than our community?”

She noted a money for radical to marque donations to assistance filmmakers affected by the caller wildfires.

“Film is what this metropolis was built on,” added Bryant. “And who built it? A clump of annoying dorks similar us.”

A rousing code from ‘Anora’s’ Sean Baker

Writer-director Sean Baker speaks astatine the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

(Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty Images)

In accepting the grant for champion director, Baker gave the evening’s astir rousing speech. Setting his statue down and pulling pages from his pocket, helium began to work an impassioned plea connected what helium called the “current authorities of indie film.”

“I’m an indie-film lifer,” Baker said, noting that helium doesn’t marque movies to beryllium calling cards for larger workplace projects. “Some of america privation to marque idiosyncratic films that are intended for theatrical merchandise with taxable substance that would ne'er beryllium greenlit by the large studios.”

But the authorities of indie movie was precarious, helium warned.

“The strategy has to alteration due to the fact that this is simply unsustainable,” Baker continued, detailing successful extent the mean clip needed to marque an indie movie and the idiosyncratic costs progressive for directors. “We are creating merchandise that creates jobs and gross for the full industry. We shouldn’t beryllium hardly getting by.”

Calling for higher upfront fees, Baker said, “Let’s request what we’re worth. I cognize that if you’re successful this room, you’ve proven you’re worthy it. So let’s not undervalue ourselves immoderate longer.”

As the assemblage erupted successful cheers and a lasting ovation, Baker pleaded for filmmakers, financiers, income companies and distributors to enactment unneurotic “to marque indie films sustainable for creatives and support indie movie alive. This is for each the indie-film lifers who are holding connected and warring the bully fight.”

How to look ‘dark times’

Natasha Rothwell, astatine microphone, accepts the grant for ensemble formed successful a caller scripted bid for “How to Die Alone.”

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Last year’s Spirit Awards were disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters utilizing a loudspeaker extracurricular the structure to amplify their message. Though the wide ambiance this twelvemonth was not arsenic stridently political, the extracurricular satellite inactive recovered its mode into the tent.

What could person been the event’s astir charged governmental infinitesimal — erstwhile the movie “No Other Land,” made by a corporate of Israeli and Palestinian directors, won the documentary grant — ended up somewhat muted. No 1 from the movie was successful attendance and nary code was given.

But the policies of the caller U.S. medication person already had an interaction connected immoderate of those successful the country Saturday. Hunter Schafer, the trans performer nominated for her pb show successful “Cuckoo,” revealed this week that her recently issued passport misgenders her. Schafer made nary notation of the incidental arsenic she took to the signifier to co-present an grant that went to trans histrion Nava Mau for “Baby Reindeer.”

In her speech, Mau said, “We don’t cognize what is going to happen, but we bash cognize our power. We bash cognize that we get to determine who we enactment with. We get to determine what we enactment on. Even if it doesn’t consciousness that way, we bash person each the power. Because we are the radical and our labour is everything. So please, delight — let’s instrumentality together. We tin bash this. We’re going to get done it.”

In accepting the John Cassavetes Award for a movie made for nether $1 million, “Girls Will Be Girls” filmmaker Shuchi Telati acknowledged, “Honestly, these are acheronian times and we’re civilization makers. And convey you to each the radical who enactment this work, who enactment stories of quiescent rebellion.”

The prize for ensemble successful a scripted bid went to “How to Die Alone,” which was precocious canceled by Hulu. In accepting the award, the show’s prima and creator Natasha Rothwell noted she was not going to outcry due to the fact that she took beta blockers, but, choking up regardless, said, “beta blockers request to bash much beta blocking.”

Rothwell added, “At its core, ‘How to Die Alone’ is simply a amusement astir the request to consciousness seen, to beryllium valued conscionable arsenic you are. And for Black stories, visibility isn’t a privilege, it is simply a necessity. We merit to instrumentality up space.”

Rothwell finished her code by saying, “To the trans assemblage that is nether onslaught close now, cognize that you are not alone. I spot you. We spot you. We each spot you. We basal with you.”

Accepting the grant for caller non-scripted oregon documentary bid for “Hollywood Black,” enforcement shaper Justin Simien said, “I did not expect this, truthful I’m going to accidental what’s connected my bosom here. If you truly are superior astir stopping the achromatic nationalist coup taking implicit the state — person you heard of it? — if you’re superior astir stopping this, however astir amplifying Black history? Because Black people, we’ve been successful a fascist state this full time.”

Josh Welsh remembered

Brenda Robinson, acting president of Film Independent, salutes Josh Welsh, the organization’s longtime president, who died successful December.

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

The acting president of Film Independent, Brenda Robinson, gave a code successful the mediate of the ceremonial successful which she mentioned Josh Welsh, the organization’s longtime person who died connected New Year’s Eve aft battling colon crab for 5 years. At the notation of Welsh’s sanction the country burst into applause and an affectional lasting ovation.

Before starring the assemblage successful a 2nd lasting ovation, Robinson said, “Josh is simply a visionary of the benignant that comes on erstwhile successful a lifetime. We privation his enactment and interaction to proceed on, due to the fact that helium is simply a large leader. He is simply a idiosyncratic of exceptional character. I talk astir him precise deliberately successful the contiguous tense, due to the fact that helium is inactive here. He’s here. We volition consciousness his tone successful the programs helium created and the lives of filmmakers who helium impacted, ever and successful each ways. Josh is lone absent successful the body, but the tone of who Josh is and what helium means to this assemblage — that is forever.”

In accepting the Robert Altman Award for “His Three Daughters,” filmmaker Azazel Jacobs acknowledged “the tone of Josh Welsh,” saying, “I’m 1 of the radical whose kindness and encouragement helium profoundly touched and I’m grateful for him.”

In his code for winning the diagnostic prize for “Anora,” Baker besides noted, “I cognize we are each reasoning astir Josh Welsh tonight, a existent champion of autarkic voices and a wonderful, benignant quality being. We’ll miss you, Josh. We’ll miss you. Long unrecorded autarkic cinema.”

A implicit database of today’s Spirit winners

“Anora” prima Mikey Madison greets Demi Moore’s tiny Chihuahua Pilaf astatine the ceremony.

(Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)

FILM CATEGORIES

Best Feature
“Anora”
Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan

Director
Sean Baker, “Anora”

Screenplay
Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”

First Feature
“Dìdi”
Director: Sean Wang
Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters

First Screenplay
Sean Wang, “Dìdi”

John Cassavetes Award
(for champion diagnostic made nether $1,000,000)
“Girls Will Be Girls”
Writer-Director-Producer: Shuchi Talati
Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne

Breakthrough Performance
Maisy Stella, “My Old Ass”

Supporting Performance
Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures)

Lead Performance
Mikey Madison, “Anora”

Robert Altman Award
“His Three Daughters”
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto
Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders

Cinematography
Jomo Fray, “Nickel Boys”

Editing
Hansjörg Weissbrich, “September 5”

International Film
“Flow”
Director: Gints Zilbalodis

Documentary
“No Other Land”
Directors: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
Producer: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning

Someone to Watch Award
Sarah Friedland, “Familiar Touch”

Truer Than Fiction Award
Rachel Elizabeth Seed, “A Photographic Memory”

Producers Award
Sarah Winshall

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

Best New Scripted Series
“Shōgun”
Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
Executive Producers: Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, Michael Clavell
Co-Executive Producers: Shannon Goss, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Jamie Vega Wheeler

Best New Non-Scripted oregon Documentary Series
“Hollywood Black”
Executive Producers: Shayla Harris, Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss, Jon Kamen, Justin Simien, Kyle Laursen, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jeffrey Schwarz, Amy Goodman Kass, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhard
Co-Executive Producers: David C. Brown, Laurens Grant

Supporting Performance successful a New Scripted Series
Nava Mau, “Baby Reindeer”

Lead Performance successful a New Scripted Series
Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer”

Breakthrough Performance successful a New Scripted Series
Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”

Ensemble Cast successful a New Scripted Series
“How to Die Alone”
Ensemble Cast: Melissa DuPrey, Jaylee Hamidi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Arkie Kandola, Elle Lorraine, Michelle McLeod, Chris “CP” Powell, Conrad Ricamora, Natasha Rothwell, Jocko Sims