The 33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced on Tuesday, honoring the best in independent cinema made with a budget of under $20 million. LGBTQ-inclusive nominees include Call Me by Your Name, A Fantastic Woman, and a special award for director Dee Rees.
The indie gay romance Call Me by Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics) received six nominations, the most of any film this year. The nods include Best Feature, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Male lead (for Timothée Chalamet), and Best Supporting Male (for Armie Hammer). The film, which is already getting substantial Oscar buzz, is a powerful tale of first love between a young man (Chalamet) and a graduate student (Hammer) over the course of a summer in Italy in 1983. It opens in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles this Friday, November 24th before rolling out to additional cities.
Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig's directorial debut, received four nominations, including Best Feature, Best Screenplay (for Gerwig), Best Female Lead (for Saoirse Ronan), and Best Supporting Female (for Laurie Metcalf). The film, which has already been wildly successful in limited release, is a coming-of-age story about a teen girl during her senior year of high school in Sacramento, which is loosely based on Gerwig herself. It's notable for including nuanced and important stories about women, as well as a heartfelt LGBTQ storyline. Lady Bird will open in wider release this weekend.
Film Independent’s Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast, was awarded to Dee Rees and the cast and casting director of Mudbound. Rees, an out lesbian filmmaker, is already creating huge Oscar buzz with Mudbound, an ensemble drama taking place in the south as two men return home to a farm in rural Mississippi. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.
France’s BPM (Beats per Minute) was nominated for Best International Film. The beautifully shot film tells the intimate and powerful story of the ACT UP activists in Paris in the early '90s who are fighting to have their voices heard and for their government to take steps to fight against HIV and AIDS. The film is directed by out filmmaker Robin Campillo and has received rave reviews. Check out GLAAD's interview with Campillo and the film's two lead actors, here.
Also nominated for Best International Film is A Fantastic Woman from Chile, the story of a transgender singer who is forced to deal with both grief and discrimination after her lover dies. Transgender actress Daniela Vega plays the lead role with grace and charisma, in what is widely being considered a star-making breakthrough performance. Both A Fantastic Woman and BPM are their respective countries' submissions for the Foreign Language Film race at the Academy Awards.
For the second year in a row, the awards will be hosted by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney. Director Ava DuVernay will be this year’s honorary awards chair. This year's awards will take place on Saturday, March 3rd on the beach in Santa Monica and broadcast live on IFC at 2pm PT / 5pm ET.
