41st Film Independent Spirit Awards: ‘Train Dreams’ Takes Best Feature, Director; ‘Adolescence’ Sweeps TV Wins
Train Dreams has won Best Feature at the 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards, with Clint Bentley also taking home the Best Director prize and lenser Adolpho Veloso winning the cinematography award.
The film, based on Denis Johnson’s 2011 short story, details the full life of Robert Grainier, a day laborer in the early 20th-century American West, played by lead performance nominee Joel Edgerton. Train Dreams is the only Best Feature nominee also nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars and since the Academy’s expansion of Best Picture, the Spirit Awards winner for Best Feature has been a Best Picture Oscar winner or nominee 13 out of 16 times. In 2018 and 2021, no Best Picture Oscar nominees were up for Best Feature here (which was won by If Beale Street Could Talk and The Lost Daughter, respectively), and in 2019 The Farewell beat Marriage Story, the first and only time a non-Best Picture Oscar nominee won over a film nominated for Best Picture.
Alex Russell’s debut film Lurker was a double winner with First Feature and First Screenplay honors and Eva Victor triumphed in Best Screenplay for Sorry, Baby. The film also won the supporting performance award for Naomi Ackie.
Rose Byrne claimed the Best Lead Performance award for her work in Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Byrne is also Oscar-nominated for her performance in the film. Newcomer Kayo Martin took home the Breakthrough Performance honor for his part as a bully in Charlie Polinger’s The Plague.
Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day had led the film field with five nominations but went home empty-handed, as did three-time nominee Twinless and four-time nominees Blue Sun Palace and One of Them Days.
The awards, hosted for the first time by Ego Nwodim, were held not from a tent on the beach in Santa Monica (thanks, 2028 Olympics) but from the Palladium in Hollywood for the first time since 1994.
In television, multi-Emmy winner Adolescence made a clean sweep, winning all four of its nominations: Best New Scripted Series, Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series (Stephen Graham), Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series (Erin Doherty) and Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series (Owen Cooper).
To be eligible for the Spirit Awards, films must have been produced for less than $30 million, while a budget of $1 million or less marks the features competing for the John Cassavetes Award. In the TV categories, only new shows that have run for one season and were released between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025, are eligible for consideration. An anthology series only qualifies in its first season.
The juried Robert Altman Award, given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast, was awarded to The Long Walk (Director: Francis Lawrence; Casting Director: Rich Delia; Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing).
Similarly in television, the Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series went to Chief of War (Ensemble Cast: Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale’o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, James Odom).
Also previously announced, the Producers Award, now in its 29th year, honors an emerging producer who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrates the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant and went to Tony Yang.
The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 32nd year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant and went to Tatti Ribeiro for Valentina.
The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 31st year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant and went to Rajee Samarasinghe for Your Touch Makes Others Invisible.
The Farewell director Lulu Wang erved as honorary chair at the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Here is the complete list of winners of the 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Film Categories
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
Peter Hujar’s Day
Producers: Jonah Disend, Jordan Drake
The Plague
Producers: Derek Dauchy, Joel Edgerton, Roy Lee, Lucy McKendrick, Steven Schneider, Lizzie Shapiro
Sorry, Baby
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski
Train Dreams (WINNER)
Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman
Twinless
Producers: David Permut, James Sweeney
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
Blue Sun Palace
Director: Constance Tsang
Producers: Sally Sujin Oh, Eli Raskin, Tony Yang
Dust Bunny
Director/Producer: Bryan Fuller
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee
East of Wall
Director/Producer: Kate Beecroft
Producers: Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, Lila Yacoub
Lurker (WINNER)
Director: Alex Russell
Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby
One of Them Days
Director: Lawrence Lamont
Producers: Deniese Davis, Poppy Hanks, James Lopez, Issa Rae, Sara Rastogi
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer)
The Baltimorons
Director/Writer/Producer: Jay Duplass
Writer/Producer: Michael Strassner
Producers: David Bonnett Jr., Drew Langer
Boys Go to Jupiter
Director/Writer: Julian Glander
Eephus
Director/Writer/Producer: Carson Lund
Writer/Producer: Michael Basta
Writer: Nate Fisher
Producers: David Entin, Tyler Taormina
Esta Isla (This Island) (WINNER)
Directors/Writers/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina
Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos
Familiar Touch
Director/Writer/Producer: Sarah Friedland
Producers: Alexandra Byer, Matthew Thurm
BEST DIRECTOR
Clint Bentley (WINNER)
Train Dreams
Mary Bronstein
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lloyd Lee Choi
Lucky Lu
Ira Sachs
Peter Hujar’s Day
Eva Victor
Sorry, Baby
BEST SCREENPLAY
Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin
Splitsville
Angus MacLachlan
A Little Prayer
James Sweeney
Twinless
Christian Swegal
Sovereign
Eva Victor (WINNER)
Sorry, Baby
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Andrew DeYoung
Friendship
Elena Oxman
Outerlands
Alex Russell (WINNER)
Lurker
Syreeta Singleton
One of Them Days
Constance Tsang
Blue Sun Palace
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Everett Blunck
The Plague
Rose Byrne (WINNER)
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kathleen Chalfant
Familiar Touch
Chang Chen
Lucky Lu
Joel Edgerton
Train Dreams
Dylan O’Brien
Twinless
Keke Palmer
One of Them Days
Théodore Pellerin
Lurker
Tessa Thompson
Hedda
Ben Whishaw
Peter Hujar’s Day
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Naomi Ackie (WINNER)
Sorry, Baby
Zoey Deutch
Nouvelle Vague
Kirsten Dunst
Roofman
Rebecca Hall
Peter Hujar’s Day
Nina Hoss
Hedda
Jane Levy
A Little Prayer
Archie Madekwe
Lurker
Kali Reis
Rebuilding
Jacob Tremblay
Sovereign
Haipeng Xu
Blue Sun Palace
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Liz Larsen
The Baltimorons
Misha Osherovich
She’s the He
Kayo Martin (WINNER)
The Plague
SZA
One of Them Days
Tabatha Zimiga
East of Wall
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Alex Ashe
Peter Hujar’s Day
Norm Li
Blue Sun Palace
David J. Thompson
Warfare
Adolpho Veloso (WINNER)
Train Dreams
Nicole Hirsch Whitaker
Dust Bunny
BEST EDITING
Ben Leonberg
Good Boy
Carson Lund
Eephus
Fin Oates
Warfare
Sara Shaw
Splitsville
Sofía Subercaseaux (WINNER)
The Testament of Ann Lee
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
Come See Me in the Good Light
Director/Producer: Ryan White
Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen
Endless Cookie
Director: Peter Scriver
Director/Producer: Seth Scriver
Producers: Dan Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Chris Yurkovich
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
Director/Producer: Julia Loktev
The Perfect Neighbor (WINNER)
Director/Producer: Geeta Gandbhir
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne
The Tale of Silyan
Director/Producer: Tamara Kotevska
Producers: Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
All That’s Left of You
Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus
Director: Cherien Dabis
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Zambia, UK, Ireland
Director: Rungano Nyoni
A Poet
Colombia
Director: Simón Mesa Soto
The Secret Agent (WINNER)
Brazil
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Sirāt
Spain
Director: Oliver Laxe
Television Categories
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
Citizen Nation
Creator: Bret Sigler
Executive Producers: Christopher Buck, Kyra Darnton
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time
Executive Producers: Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Ryan Coogler, Myles Estey, Ted Skillman, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Peter Nicks, Kalia King, Carolyn Payne, Sean David Johnson
Co-Executive Producer: Kelli Buchanan
Pee-wee as Himself (WINNER)
Executive Producers: Matt Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, Kyle Martin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television
Executive Producers: Issa Rae, Montrel McKay, John Maggio, Rachel Dretzin, John Ealer, Jonathan Berry, Dave Becky, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Co-Executive Producers: Esther Dere, Zachary Herrmann
Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae
Executive Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow, Amy Kaufman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker
Co-Executive Producer: Mark Becker
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
Adolescence (WINNER)
Creators/Executive Producers: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham
Executive Producers: Philip Barantini, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Nina Wolarsky, Hannah Walters, Mark Herbert, Emily Feller
Co-Executive Producers: Carina Sposato, Niall Shamma, Peter Balm
Common Side Effects
Creators/Executive Producers: Joe Bennett, Steve Hely
Executive Producers: Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, Dustin Davis, James Merrill, Sean Buckelew, Benjy Brooke, Kelly Crews, Suzanna Makkos
Co-Executive Producer: Dave King
Forever
Creator/Executive Producer: Mara Brock Akil
Executive Producers: Regina King, Susie Fitzgerald, Shana C. Waterman, Reina King, Anthony Hemingway, Judy Blume, Erika Harrison, Sara E. White
Co-Executive Producer: Jerron Horton
Mr Loverman
Executive Producers: Lennie James, Hong Khaou, Jo McClellan, Faye Ward, Hannah Farrell, Hannah Price
North of North
Creators/Executive Producers: Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Executive Producers: Garry Campbell, Anya Adams, Susan Coyne, Miranda de Pencier
Co-Executive Producers: Teresa M. Ho, Michael Goldbach, Kathryn Borel Jr., JP Larocque
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Sydney Chandler
Alien: Earth
Stephen Graham (WINNER)
Adolescence
Ethan Hawke
The Lowdown
Lennie James
Mr Loverman
Anna Lambe
North of North
Lola Petticrew
Say Nothing
Seth Rogen
The Studio
Lovie Simone
Forever
Michelle Williams
Dying for Sex
Noah Wyle
The Pitt
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Ariyon Bakare
Mr Loverman
Babou Ceesay
Alien: Earth
Sharon D. Clarke
Mr Loverman
Taylor Dearden
The Pitt
Erin Doherty (WINNER)
Adolescence
Stephen McKinley Henderson
A Man on the Inside
Poorna Jagannathan
Deli Boys
Xosha Roquemore
Forever
Jenny Slate
Dying for Sex
Ben Whishaw
Black Doves
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Asif Ali
Deli Boys
Wally Baram
Overcompensating
Owen Cooper (WINNER)
Adolescence
Michael Cooper Jr.
Forever
Ernest Kingsley Junior
Washington Black
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards: ‘Train Dreams’ Takes Best Feature, Director; ‘Adolescence’ Sweeps TV Wins - February 15, 2026
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41st Film Independent Spirit Awards: ‘Train Dreams’ Takes Best Feature, Director; ‘Adolescence’ Sweeps TV Wins 
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