2026 Film Independent Spirt Awards Nominations: Tessa Thompson; HEDDA, Train Dreams Joel Edgerton and more!


By Evan L. Jackson

The 2026 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations are in and mostly all our favorites got nominated! The one that I was most excited to report on is Tessa Thompson earning a Best Lead Performance nomination for Hedda. Her c-star in the film Nina Hoss, earns a nomination for Best Supporting performance. Joining Tessa in the Best Lead Performance category is Eva Victor who earns a nomination for 'Sorry, Baby'. It seems that 'Train Dreams' is picking up steam this awards season earning a Best Feature nom and a nomination for star of the film Joel Edgerton. A few surprises were pleasant was like seeing Kristen Dunst earning a Best Supporting Performance. Tune in February 15, 2026 live for the Film Independent Spirit Awards. 

2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations

Film awards

Best Feature

“Peter Hujar’s Day”

“The Plague”

“Sorry, Baby”

“Train Dreams”

“Twinless”

Best First Feature

“Blue Sun Palace”

“Dust Bunny”

“East of Wall”

“Lurker”

“One of Them Days”

John Cassavetes Award

“The Baltimorons”

“Boys Go to Jupiter”

“Eephus”

“Esta Isla (This Island)”

“Familiar Touch”

Best Director

Clint Bentley, “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, “Sorry, Baby”

Best First Screenplay

Andrew DeYoung, “Friendship”

Elena Oxman, “Outerlands”

Alex Russell, “Lurker”

Syreeta Singleton, “One of Them Days”

Constance Tsang, “Blue Sun Palace”

Best Lead Performance

Everett Blunck, “The Plague”

Rose Byrne, “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, “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”

Kayo Martin, “The Plague”

Misha Osherovich, “She’s the He”

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, “Train Dreams”

Nicole Hirsch Whitaker, “Dust Bunny”

Best Editing

Ben Leonberg, “Good Boy”

Carson Lund, “Eephus”






Fin Oates, “Warfare” 
Sara Shaw, “Splitsville”

Sofía Subercaseaux, “The Testament of Ann Lee”

Robert Altman Award

“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

Best Documentary

“Come See Me in the Good Light”

“Endless Cookie”

“My Undesirable Friends: Part I—Last Air in Moscow”

“The Perfect Neighbor”

“The Tale of Silyan”

Best International Film

“All That’s Left of You” (Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus)

“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (Zambia, U.K., Ireland)

“A Poet” (Colombia)

“The Secret Agent” (Brazil)

“Sirat” (Spain)

Producers Award – Emerging Filmmaker Awards

Emma Hannaway

Luca Intili

Tony Yang

Someone to Watch Award – Emerging Filmmaker Awards

Tatti Ribeiro, director of “Valentina”

Neo Sora, director of “Happyend”

Annapurna Sriram, director of “Fucktoys”

Truer Than Fiction Award – Emerging Filmmaker Awards

Tony Benna, director of “André Is an Idiot”

Rajee Samarasinghe, director of “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible”

Brittany Shyne, director of “Seeds”

TV awards

Best New Scripted Series

“Adolescence”

“Common Side Effects”

“Forever”

“Mr Loverman”

“North of North”

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series

“Citizen Nation”

“Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time”

“Pee-wee as Himself”

“Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television”

“Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae”

Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series

Sydney Chandler, “Alien: Earth”

Stephen Graham, “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, “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, “Adolescence”

Michael Cooper Jr., “Forever”

Ernest Kingsley Junior, “Washington Black”

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series

“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 Udom

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