2021 Independent Spirit Awards Announced
Frances McDormand in NOMADLAND. Source IMDb
The Film Independent Spirit Awards just announced their nominees for 2021, which for the first time included award categories for scripted and documentary television series.
Chloé Zhao's NOMADLAND, which was the 2020 Woodstock Film Festival's Closing Night Film, was nominated across five different categories including Best Feature, Best Female Lead, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. Joining NOMADLAND amongst the nominees for Best Editing was documentarian and WFF alumni Heidi Ewing's narrative debut I CARRY YOU WITH ME, which also made the list for Best First Feature. This heartfelt tale about two immigrants whose love for each other transcends borders also screened at the 2020 Woodstock Film Festival, with Ewing in attendance.
Other notable nominees were Alice Wu's THE HALF OF IT, which was nominated for Best Screenplay, and Maria Schrader's UNORTHODOX, which made the list for Best Scripted Series, Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series, and Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series. Both directors participated in the Woodstock Film Festival’s Virtual Films & Conversations online talk series last spring.
The 36th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards will air Thursday, April 22 at 10pm ET and 7pm PT. You can see the full list of nominees here.