The 2023 Independent Spirit Awards delivered a night to remember as the dazzling Daniels’ film, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” took center stage, leading the winners’ list. Todd Field’s “Tár” and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” were also notable standouts, with “Tár” taking home the prize for Best Cinematography while “Aftersun” earned the honor of Best First Feature.
Unsurprisingly, all three films also received nods from the Academy Awards, with “Everything Everywhere” leading the pack with a remarkable 11 nominations. This year’s Independent Spirit Awards truly celebrated groundbreaking and innovative cinema.
The 38th edition of the Film Independent awards was a historic night for gender inclusivity in cinema. Following the Gotham Awards’ footsteps, the Independent Spirit Awards introduced gender-neutral performance categories, signaling a long-awaited shift in the industry. As a result, the race for Best Lead Performance included powerhouse performances from all genders, with Michelle Yeoh ultimately taking home the prize.
The category, however, was not limited to traditional gender binaries, as Paul Mescal from “Aftersun” and Jeremy Pope from “The Inspection” were among the standout nominees. This move has opened the doors for more diverse and inclusive representation in film.
This year’s ceremony aired directly on YouTube instead of the usual IFC broadcast, allowing a more diverse and more inclusive ceremony-watching audience from around the globe.
Here is the complete list of winners at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards:
Best Feature
“Bones and All” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) WINNER
“Our Father, the Devil” (Resolve Media)
“Tár” (Focus Features)
“Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Best Director
Todd Field – “Tár” (Focus Features)
Kogonada – “After Yang” (A24)
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) WINNER
Sarah Polley – “Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Halina Reijn – “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (A24)
Best Lead Performance
Cate Blanchett – “Tár” (Focus Features)
Dale Dickey – “A Love Song” (Bleecker Street)
Mia Goth – “Pearl” (A24)
Regina Hall – “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” (Focus Features)
Paul Mescal – “Aftersun” (A24)
Aubrey Plaza – “Emily the Criminal” (Roadside Attractions)
Jeremy Pope – “The Inspection” (A24)
Taylor Russell – “Bones and All” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Andrea Riseborough – “To Leslie” (Momentum Pictures)
Michelle Yeoh – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) WINNER
Best Supporting Performance
Jamie Lee Curtis – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
Brian Tyree Henry – “Causeway” (A24/Apple Original Films)
Nina Hoss – “Tár” (Focus Features)
Brian D’Arcy James – “The Cathedral” (Mubi)
Ke Huy Quan – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) WINNER
Trevante Rhodes – “Bruiser” (Onyx Collective)
Theo Rossi – “Emily the Criminal” (Roadside Attractions)
Mark Rylance – “Bones and All” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Jonathan Tucker – “Palm Trees and Power Lines” (Momentum Pictures)
Gabrielle Union – “The Inspection” (A24)
Best Breakthrough Performance
Frankie Corio – “Aftersun” (A24)
Garcija Filipovic – “Murina” (Kino Lorber)
Stephanie Hsu – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) WINNER
Lily McInerny – “Palm Trees and Power Lines” (Momentum Pictures)
Daniel Zolghadri – “Funny Pages” (A24)
Best Screenplay
“After Yang” (A24) – Kogonada
“Catherine Called Birdy” (Amazon Studios) – Lena Dunham
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert WINNER
“Tár” (Focus Features) – Todd Field
“Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing) – Sarah Polley
Best First Screenplay
“Bodies Bodies Bodies” (A24) – Sarah DeLappe, Kristen Roupenian
“Emergency” (Amazon Studios) – K.D. Dávila
“Emily the Criminal” (Roadside Attractions) – John Patton Ford WINNER
“Fire Island” (Searchlight Pictures) – Joel Kim Booster
“Palm Trees and Power Lines” (Momentum Pictures) – Jamie Dack, Audrey Findlay
Best First Feature
“Aftersun” (A24) WINNER
“Emily the Criminal” (Roadside Attractions)
“The Inspection” (A24)
“Murina” (Kino Lorber)
“Palm Trees and Power Lines” (Momentum Pictures)
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000)
“The African Desperate” (Mubi)
“A Love Song” (Bleecker Street)
“The Cathedral” (Mubi) WINNER
“Holy Emy” (Utopie Films)
“Something in the Dirt” (XYZ Films)
Best Cinematography
“Aftersun” (A24) – Gregory Oke
“Murina” (Kino Lorber) – Hélène Louvart
“Neptune Frost” (Kino Lorber) – Anisia Uzeyman
“Pearl” (A24) – Eliot Rockett
“Tár” (Focus Features) – Florian Hoffmeister WINNER
Best Documentary
“A House Made of Splinters” (Madman Entertainment)
“All that Breathes” (HBO)
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (Neon) WINNER
“Midwives” (POV)
“Riotsville, U.S.A.” (IFC Films)
Best Editing
“Aftersun” (A24) – Blair McClendon
“The Cathedral” (Mubi) – Ricky D’Ambrose
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) – Paul Rogers WINNER
“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” (A24) – Dean Fleischer Camp, Nick Paley
“Tár” (Focus Features) – Monika Willi
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
“Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing) – Sarah Polley (director), John Buchan, Jason Knight (casting directors), Shayla Brown, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Kira Guloien, Kate Hallett, Judith Ivey, Rooney Mara, Sheila McCarthy, Frances McDormand, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, Ben Whishaw, August Winter (ensemble cast)
Best International Film
“Corsage” (Austria/Luxembourg/France/Belgium/Italy/England)
“Joyland” (Pakistan/USA) WINNER
“Leonor Will Never Die” (Philippines)
“Return to Seoul” (South Korea/France/Belgium/Romania)
“Saint Omer” (France)
Producers Award
Liz Cardenas
Tory Lenosky WINNER
David Grove Churchill Viste
Someone to Watch Award
Adamma Ebo – “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul”
Nikyatu Jusu – “Nanny” WINNER
Araceli Lemos – “Holy Emy”
The Truer Than Fiction Award
Isabel Castro – “Mija”
Reid Davenport – “I Didn’t See You There” WINNER
Rebeca Huntt – “Beba”
TELEVISION CATEGORIES
Best New Scripted Series
“The Bear “ (FX) WINNER
“Pachinko “ (Apple TV+)
“The Porter” (CBC)
“Severance” (Apple TV+)
“Station Eleven” (HBO Max)
Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Aml Ameen , “The Porter”
Mohammed Amer, “Mo”
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary” WINNER
Bridget Everett, “Somebody Somewhere”
KaMillion, “Rap Sh!t”
Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”
Himesh Patel, “Station Eleven”
Sue Ann Pien, “As We See It”
Adam Scott, “Severance”
Ben Whishaw, “This is Going to Hurt”
Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Danielle Deadwyler, “Station Eleven”
Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear” WINNER
Jeff Hiller, “Somebody Somewhere”
Gbemisola Ikumelo, “A League of Their Own”
Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”
Frankie Quiñones, “This Fool”
Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”
Molly Shannon, “I Love That For You”
Tramell Tillman, “Severance”
Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Children of the Underground”
“Mind Over Murder”
“Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?”
“The Rehearsal” WINNER
“We Need to Talk About Cosby”
