and got a leading five nominations, including best feature, from the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Natalie Morales and Joel Kim Booster announced the nominees Tuesday on a YouTube livestream.
Songâs quietly romantic film, starring Greta Lee and Teo Yoo as childhood friends who reconnect later in life, earned nominations for her direction, script and for both actors. âMay December,â about an actress preparing to play a Mary Kay Letourneau-like role got nods for Natalie Portman, Charles Melton and screenwriter Samy Burch. MGMâs âAmerican Fiction,â featuring Jeffrey Wright as a frustrated novelist, got recognition for Wright, Erika Alexander and Sterling K. Brown. Jefferson was nominated for his script but not for his direction, however.
It was a good morning for A24. In addition to the nominations for âPast Lives,â the indie film company received 11 overall for âAll Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,â âEarth Mamaâ and âThe Zone of Interest.â was also named winner of the Robert Altman Award, which is given to one filmâs director, casting director and ensemble cast. Michelle Williams plays a small-time sculptor in the film, leading an ensemble that includes AndrĂ© Benjamin, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch and Amanda Plummer.
about a curmudgeonly teacher played by , got four nominations including for cinematography, best screenplay, best supporting performance for DaâVine Joy Randolph and best breakthrough for newcomer Dominic Sessa. Neither Payne nor Giamatti were nominated.
Directing nominees were: Andrew Haigh ("All of Strangers"); Ira Sachs ("Passages"); William Oldroyd ("Eileen"); and Haynes and Song.
âPassages" and âAll of Us Strangers," nuanced portraits of gay relationships, were also nominated for best feature, as was âWe Grown Now.â
The Spirit Awards limit eligibility to productions with budgets of $30 million or less, meaning films like âOppenheimer,â âMaestroâ and âPoor Thingsâ did not qualify for nominations. The organization also switched to gender neutral acting awards in 2022.
Lead performance nominees include Wright, Lee, Yoo, Portman, Jessica Chastain ("Memory"), Trace Lysette ("Monica"), Judy Reyes ("Birth/Rebirth"), Andrew Scott ("All of Us Strangers"), Franz Rogowski ("Passages") and Teyana Taylor ("A Thousand and One").
Supporting performance nods went to Noah Galvin ("Theater Camp"), , Glenn Howerton ("BlackBerry"), Marin Ireland ("Eileen"), Catalina Saavedra ("Rotting in the Sun") and Ben Whishaw ("Passages"), in addition to the aforementioned Melton, Randolph, Brown and Alexander.
NFL veteran Marshawn Lynch was also nominated for his breakthrough performance in the wild high school comedy âBottoms.â
Films nominated for best international film include , Justine Trietâs âAnatomy of a Fallâ and Jonathan Glazerâs âThe Zone of Interest,â from Poland, as well as Denmark/Icelandâs âGodland,â Nigeriaâs âMama Wataâ and Mexicoâs âTĂłtem.â
Last yearâs big winner was â ,â which accepted seven awards including best feature, best director and acting prizes for Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan â categories in which it would .
Josh Welsh, the president of Film Independent, said the spirit awards look for films and shows that, âdemonstrate the uniqueness of vision, original, provocative subject matter, economy of means and diversity, both on screen and off.â
The Spirit Awards also recognize television series. The nominees include âJury Duty,â for best series and best ensemble cast, âBeefâ for series, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, and âThe Last of Usâ which got acting nods for Bella Ramsey, Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman. Billie Eilish was also nominated for âSwarm.â
Saturday Night Liveâs Aidy Bryant is hosting the show, which will take place on Feb. 25 in Santa Monica, California. The awards will be streamed live on IMDb and Film Independentâs YouTube channels.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
