Awards season is in full swing, and last week saw the nominees for the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards hit the blue carpet in Los Angeles. Following the Grammys and pre-empting the BAFTAs, Actor Awards (f.k.a. the SAG Awards), and Oscars (now exactly a month away), the Indie Spirit Awards tends to have a, well, more free-spirited air to it. Shown as much in the independent cinema it celebrates as the celebrity fashions of the night.

This year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards’ red (blue!) carpet looked a little different than film fans and TV fanatics are used to. After all, for the first time in many years, this year’s Indie Spirits did not take place on a swanky stretch of Santa Monica beach (cool, cold, windy, sandy), instead pulling up stakes for the Hollywood Palladium.

Winners’ List
Film Awards

Best Feature
Train Dreams

Best First Feature
Lurker

John Cassavetes Award (for best film made under $1 million)
Esta Isla (This Island)

Best Documentary
The Perfect Neighbor

Best International Film
The Secret Agent (Brazil)

Best Director
Clint Bentley (Train Dreams)

Best Screenplay
Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby)

Best First Screenplay
Alex Russell (Lurker)

Best Lead Performance
Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You)

Best Supporting Performance
Naomi Ackie (Sorry, Baby)

Best Breakthrough Performance
Kayo Martin (The Plague)

Best Cinematography
Adolpho Veloso (Train Dreams)

Best Editing
Sofía Subercaseaux (The Testament of Ann Lee)

Robert Altman Award (for best ensemble casting)
The Long Walk

Emerging Filmmaker Awards
Producers Award
Tony Yang

Someone To Watch Award
Tatti Ribeiro

Truer Than Fiction Award
Rajee Samarasinghe

TV Awards
Best New Scripted Series
Adolescence

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
Pee-Wee As Himself

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Stephen Graham (Adolescence)

Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Erin Doherty (Adolescence)

Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Owen Cooper (Adolescence)

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Chief of War