Spirit Awards move date; Barry Jenkins, Laverne Cox, Olivia Wilde to announce nominations

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, announced today that this year’s awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 22 at 10pm ET, in a prime-time ceremony to be televised on IFC, a one-time break from the show’s usual tradition as a live daytime event occurring on the Santa Monica beach the Saturday before the Oscars.

Nominees for the 36th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be revealed in a video announcement premiering Tuesday, January 26 at 10am ET / 7am PT on Film Independent’s website and YouTube channel. Presenters will include Laverne Cox (Disclosure, Promising Young Woman) and Spirit Award winners Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk, Moonlight, The Underground Railroad) and Olivia Wilde (Booksmart, Don’t Worry Darling). The January 26 nominations will also include the addition of several new television categories, as previously announced.

“The Spirit Awards are a time for us to come together – filmmakers and film lovers alike – and celebrate the movies, shows and performances that have sustained us through these incredibly challenging times,” said Film Independent President Josh Welsh. “While 2020 left a lot to be desired, it was an amazing year for film and TV. Visual storytellers with powerful and unique voices brought us so much joy and light during these difficult months. We’re thrilled to share our nominations with the world, and I encourage everyone to join Film Independent and vote on the winners.”

Last year’s Spirit Awards were hosted by Aubrey Plaza with winners that included Lulu Wang’s The Farewell taking Best Feature and Supporting Actress (Zhao Shuzhen) and Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems) for Best Lead Actor.

Said Blake Callaway, Executive Director, IFC and SundanceTV, “IFC is proud to continue its partnership with Film Independent by bringing the Spirit Awards and the films it champions to audiences across the country. The celebration of independent voices is more important today than ever before, and while we’ll miss the beach in Santa Monica, we still plan on making the Spirit Awards the most fun stop on the awards circuit.”

In addition to the linear broadcast on IFC, the Spirit Awards will also stream simultaneously on AMC+. Following the broadcast, the full awards ceremony will be made available on demand across AMC+ and IFC platforms starting Friday, April 23.

Film Independent will continue to honor emerging filmmakers with the Truer Than Fiction Award, Producers Award and the Someone to Watch Award.

The Spirit Awards are the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity and inclusion in the film industry. As always, winners are selected by Members of Film Independent.

Photo credits: Barry Jenkins (Erik Anderson), Laverne Cox (Ava Benjamin Shorr/Netflix), Olivia Wilde

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) 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.

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