The 2021 Spirit Awards were announced by the collective star power of Barry Jenkins, Olivia Wilde, and Laverne Cox on Tuesday morning, but it was Eliza Hittman’s “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” that stole the show. The Focus Features release took seven Spirit Award nominations including Best Feature, Best Director and Female Lead for Sidney Flanigan. In the inaugural television categories, “I May Destroy You” won the Ensemble honor and earned a Best New Scripted Series nod.
READ MORE: “Nomadland” wins Best Feature and Audience Award at the Gotham Awards [Winners List]
Other Best Feature nominees included Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari” (six nods overall), Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” (five nominations), “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (five nominations) and Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” (three nominations).
“Promising Young Woman” earned three nominations including Best Director for Emerald Ferrell but was snubbed for Best Feature. “Ma Rainey” was the only Best Feature nominee whose director was not recognized.
Regina King and the cast of “One Night in Miami” won the Robert Altman Award which goes to the director and the ensemble cast of a film.
Notable standouts among the nominees include “Miss Juneteenth” with four nominations including Best Female Lead, Nicole Beharie, and “Sound of Metal” and “The Assistant” which earned three nominations each.
Unexpected snubs on the film side included “Shirley’s” Elisabeth Moss, “Malcolm & Marie’s” Zendaya and any recognition for Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.”
A number of major awards season players were not eligible most likely due to the fact their production budgets were over $22.5 million. Those films include “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Mank,” “Da 5 Blood” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Additionally, Sophia Loren was not eligible for Best Actress for “The Life Ahead” because it’s an international production.
The 2021 Spirit Awards will be handed out in a ceremony on Thursday, April 22 at 7 PM PT, 10 PM ET. IFC will broadcast the proceedings which we assume will not feature an audience. Traditionally, the Spirits usually are held in a packed tent on Santa Monica Beach the Saturday before the Oscars.
A complete list of this year’s nominees are as follows:
FILM CATEGORIES
BEST FEATURE
First Cow
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Nomadland
BEST FIRST FEATURE
I Carry You With Me
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Miss Juneteenth
Nine Days
Sound of Metal
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
The Killing of Two Lovers
La Leyenda Negra
Lingua Franca
Residue
Saint Frances
BEST DIRECTOR
Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow”
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland”
BEST SCREENPLAY
Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Mike Makowsky, “Bad Education”
Alice Wu, “The Half of It”
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Kitty Green, “The Assistant”
Noah Hutton, “Lapsis”
Channing Godfrey Peoples, “Miss Juneteenth”
Andy Siara, “Palm Springs”
James Sweeney, “Straight Up”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jay Keitel, “She Dies Tomorrow”
Shabier Kirchner, “Bull”
Michael Latham, “The Assistant”
Hélène Louvart, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Joshua James Richards, “Nomadland”
BEST EDITING
Andy Canny, “The Invisible Man”
Scott Cummings, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Merawi Gerima, “Residue”
Enat Sidi, “I Carry You With Me”
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland”
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Nicole Beharie, “Miss Juneteenth”
Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Julia Garner, “The Assistant”
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”
Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”
BEST MALE LEAD
Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal”
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Adarsh Gourav, “The White Tiger”
Rob Morgan, “Bull”
Steven Yeun, “Minari”
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Alexis Chikaeze, “Miss Juneteenth”
Yeri Han, “Minari”
Valerie Mahaffey, “French Exit”
Talia Ryder, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Yuh-jung Youn, “Minari”
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Colman Domingo, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Orion Lee, “First Cow”
Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal”
Glynn Turman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Benedict Wong, “Nine Days”
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD– Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
“One Night in Miami…“
Director: Regina King
Casting Directors: Kimberly R. Hardin
Ensemble Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.
BEST DOCUMENTARY(
“Collective“
“Crip Camp“
“Dick Johnson is Dead“
“The Mole Agent“
“Time“
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
“Bacurau” (Brazil)
“The Disciple” (India)
“Night of the Kings” (Ivory Coast)
“Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time” (Hungary)
“Quo Vadis, Aida?” (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
PRODUCERS AWARD
Kara Durrett
Lucas Joaquin
Gerry Kim
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD–.
David Midell, “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Ekwa Msangi, “Farewell Amor”
Annie Silverstein, “Bull”
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Cecilia Aldarondo, “Landfall”
Elegance Bratton, “Pier Kids”
Elizabeth Lo, “Stray”
TV CATEGORIES
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES(
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children
City So Real
Immigration Nation
Love Fraud
We’re Here
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
I May Destroy You
Little America
Small Axe
A Teacher
Unorthodox
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Elle Fanning, “The Great”
Shira Haas, “Unorthodox”
Abby McEnany, “Work in Progress”
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, “Never Have I Ever”
Jordan Kristine Seamón, “We Are Who We Are”
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Conphidance, “Little America”
Adam Ali, “Little America”
Nicco Annan, “P-Valley”
Amit Rahav, “Unorthodox”
Harold Torres, “Zero, Zero, Zero”
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
I May Destroy You
Ensemble Cast: Michaela Coel, Paapa Essiedu, Wruche Opia, Stephen Wight