SANTA MONICA—Awards season is finally and I mean finally coming to an end; it has been a major drag, a drag that has extended a little over 2 months longer than what it should normally do. The awards ceremony that highlights all things geared towards indie films, the Film Independent Spirit Awards were held on Thursday, April 22. The ceremony was hosted by “Saturday Night Live” alum Melissa Villasenor and saw the big winner of the night “Nomadland” and “Sound of Metal” each walked away with three awards.
“Nomadland” won the prize for Best Feature, while “Sound of Metal” walked away with the prize for Best First Feature for its director Darius Marder. I would argue in any other year beyond the pandemic we just endured, “Sound of Metal” would totally be a favorite for the Best Picture race, but “Nomadland” is totally running away with that prize this year.
Chloe Zhao took the prize for Best Director for “Nomadland,” while Emerald Fennell won the prize for Best Screenplay for “Promising Young Woman.” On the acting front a bit of an upset in the Best Actor race with Riz Ahmed winning for “Sound of Metal” over Chadwick Boseman for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Carey Mulligan, (who I think delivered the best performance by an actress in 2020) picked up the award for Best Actress for her work in “Promising Young Woman.”
In the Supporting races, a man who should be receiving a ton of accolades finally got some, as Paul Raci walked away with the prize for Supporting Actor for his work in “Sound of Metal.” “Minari” standout, Youn Yuh-jung took the prize for Best Supporting Actress. Other winners for the night included “Palm Springs” for Best First Screenplay,” while “Crip Camp” won Best Documentary. On the technical side, “Nomadland” walked away with prizes for Best Cinematography and Best Editing.
I will admit the Spirit Awards do highlight cinema that tends to get ignored. It’s not just about artsy flicks, it’s about movies that strike a chord with the spectator, it forces you to dig deep and think. So here is to more indie flicks being highlighted for 2021.
