06/12/2023 - Anatomy of a Fall, Godland, The Zone of Interest, Bye Bye Tiberias and Four Daughters are also featured in the list

The nominations for the 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards are out, and a number of European-produced titles have landed several nods. In a list led by the US productions American Fiction, May December and Past Lives, Ira Sachs’ French movie Passages [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] has racked up a total of four nominations, leading the European contingent by showing up in the Best Feature, Best Director and Best Performance (Franz Rogowski in lead, Ben Whishaw in supporting) categories. Hot on its heels are All of Us Strangers [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the new film by British filmmaker Andrew Haigh, and fairly surprisingly, Upon Entry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alejandro Rojas and Juan Se…
film profile], the US-set, Spanish-produced first feature by Venezuelan-born, Spanish-based duo Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vasquez. The former is nominated for Best Feature, Best Director and Best Lead Performance (for Andrew Scott’s work), while the latter is nominated in the Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Best Editing categories.

Another European co-production also received three nominations: Eileen, the new effort by British filmmaker William Oldroyd (Lady Macbeth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: William Oldroyd
film profile]), is featured in the Best Director and Best Supporting Performance (for both Anne Hathaway's and Marin Ireland’s turns) categories. Furthermore, Monica [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Pallaoro
film profile], the latest outing by Italian filmmaker Andrea Pallaoro, which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival and is also set in the USA, secured two nods, for Best Lead Performance (for Trace Lysette’s work) and Best Cinematography.

In the Best International Film category, the two main winners of the latest Cannes Film Festival are featured: both the Palme d’Or recipient Anatomy of a Fall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile] by France’s Justine Triet and the Grand Prix winner The Zone of Interest [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by British filmmaker Jonathan Glazer are vying for the award. Joining them are Iceland’s Oscar submission, Godland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elliott Crosset Hove
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile] by Hlynur Pálmason, premiered in last year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard, and the European co-production Totem [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lila Avilés
film profile] by Mexico’s Lila Avilés, premiered in competition at this year’s Berlinale.

Some other successful European titles are featured in the Best Documentary category, such as Bye Bye Tiberias [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile], directed by Lina Soualem and selected as Palestine’s Oscar submission after its premiere in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori, and Four Daughters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania, winner of Cannes’ Golden Eye for Best Documentary of the festival, where it premiered in the Palme d’Or competition. The latter doc has also been selected to represent its country in the Oscars race.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Best Feature
All of Us Strangers [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Andrew Haigh (UK/USA)
American Fiction - Cord Jefferson
May December - Todd Haynes
Passages [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Ira Sachs (France)
Past Lives - Celine Song
We Grown Now - Minhal Baig

Best Director
Andrew Haigh – All of Us Strangers
Todd Haynes – May December
William Oldroyd – Eileen (USA/UK)
Celine Song – Past Lives
Ira Sachs – Passages

Best First Feature
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt - Raven Jackson
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint - Tomás Gómez Bustillo (Argentina/USA)
Earth Mama - Savanah Leaf (UK/USA)
A Thousand and One - AV Rockwell
Upon Entry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alejandro Rojas and Juan Se…
film profile] - Alejandro Rojas, Juan Sebastián Vasquez (Spain)

Best International Film
Anatomy of a Fall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile] – Justine Triet (France)
Godland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elliott Crosset Hove
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile] – Hlynur Pálmason (Denmark/Iceland/France/Sweden)
Mami Wata – CJ Obasi (Nigeria)
Totem [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lila Avilés
film profile] – Lila Avilés (Mexico/Denmark/France)
The Zone of Interest [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Jonathan Glazer (UK/Poland/USA)

Best Documentary
Bye Bye Tiberias [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile] – Lina Soualem (France/Palestine/Belgium/Qatar)
Four Daughters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] – Kaouther Ben Hania (France/Tunisia/Germany/Saudi Arabia)
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project - Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson
Kokomo City - D. Smith
The Mother of All Lies - Asmae El Moudir (Morocco/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Egypt)

Best Lead Performance
Jessica Chastain - Memory
Greta Lee - Past Lives
Trace Lysette - Monica [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Pallaoro
film profile] (USA/Italy)
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 (USA/Mexico)
Ben Whishaw - Passages

Breakthrough Performance
Marshawn Lynch – Bottoms
Atibon Nazaire – Mountains
Tia Nomore – Earth Mama
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Anaita Wali Zada – Fremont

Best Screenplay
American Fiction
Birth Rebirth
Bottoms
Past Lives
The Holdovers

Best First Screenplay
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
May December
The Starling Girl
Theater Camp
Upon Entry

Best Cinematography
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
The Holdovers
Monica
We Grown Now

Best Editing
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Rotting in the Sun
Theater Camp
Upon Entry
We Grown Now

John Cassavetes Award
The Artifice Girl - Franklin Ritch
Cadejo Blanco - Justin Lerner (Guatemala/USA/Mexico)
Fremont - Babak Jalali
Rotting in the Sun - Sebastián Silva
The Unknown Country - Morrisa Maltz

Robert Altman Award
Showing Up

Someone to Watch Award
Joanna Arnow, director of The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
Laura Moss, director of Birth/Rebirth
Monica Sorelle, director of Mountains

Truer Than Fiction Award
Set Hernandez, director of unseen
Jesse Short Bull, Laura Tomaselli, directors of Lakota Nation vs. United States
Sierra Urich, director of Joonam

Producers Award
Rachael Fung
Graham Swon
Monique Walton

Best New Scripted Series
Beef
Dreaming Whilst Black
I’m a Virgo
Jury Duty
Slip

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court
Dear Mama
Murder in Big Horn
Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence
Wrestlers

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Emma Corrin - A Murder at the End of the World
Dominique Fishback - Swarm
Betty Gilpin - Mrs. Davis
Jharrel Jerome - I’m a Virgo
Zoe Lister-Jones - Slip
Bel Powley - A Small Light
Bella Ramsey - The Last of Us
Ramón Rodríguez - Will Trent
Ali Wong - Beef
Steven Yeun - Beef

Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Murray Bartlett - The Last of Us
Billie Eilish - Swarm
Jack Farthing - Rain Dogs
Nick Offerman - The Last of Us
Adina Porter - The Changeling
Lewis Pullman - Lessons in Chemistry
Benny Safdie - The Curse
Luke Tennie - Shrinking
Olivia Washington - I’m a Virgo
Jessica Williams - Shrinking

Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Clark Backo - The Changeling
Aria Mia Loberti - All the Light We Cannot See
Adjani Salmon - Dreaming Whilst Black
Keivonn Montreal Woodard - The Last of Us
Kara Young - I’m a Virgo

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Jury Duty