The 2022 Spirit Awards Winners: Maggie Gyllenhaal and ‘The Lost Daughter’ Win Big

Oscar season rolled on as the 37th Independent Spirit Awards took place tonight on IFC and AMC+. Hosted by comedy’s power couple, Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, this year’s ceremony served as a bit of a departure from recent years. Typically held the night before the Oscars, the show was moved ahead a few weeks offering viewers (and stars) a nice break from the all encompassing shadow of the big show. Reflecting the move were a cadre of nominees who, rather than a prior trend of seemingly trying to mirror the Oscars, represent a vast assortment of the very best independent film and television.

The unquestioned juggernaut both in nominations and fan support had to be “Zola.” After being blanked by the Oscars, the ripped-from-Twitter true story scooped up an astonishing 7 nominations including Picture, Director and Lead Actress. However, as the night progressed it was clear the room had another favorite. Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s “The Lost Daughter” scored massive wins in Feature, Director and Screenplay, all three awarded to Gyllenhaal herself. It was a triumph for the actress turned director as she missed a Director nod at the Oscars. Elsewhere the show played fixer for Oscars mistakes all across the board. “Red Rocket” star Simon Rex completed his unlikely blast into stardom by winning Best Male Lead. And it wasn’t all quiet for “Zola” as Taylour Paige won for Female Lead and Joi McMillon won in Editing. Ruth Negga, yet another Oscar snub, was rewarded for Best Supporting Female for Passing. Not content in besting the Oscars, The Indie Spirits also showed the Emmys what the best in television actually was with The Underground Railroad and Reservation Dogs both taking home major prizes.

While the night was an opportunity to differentiate itself from the Oscars, the ceremony still felt marred by baffling decisions that its larger cousin is currently also facing backlash for. After touting the importance of Indie Cinema and the diversity within throughout the show, when it came time to award Cinematography, Editing and, perhaps most shocking, International Film, they chose to do so offscreen. Coupled with also giving “smaller” awards like “Truer Than Fiction” and “One To Watch” during commercial breaks, a disappointing cloud hung over the show. Independent cinema is an aspect of the industry that relies most on ceremonies like this to thrive and to prioritize bad sketches over real craft borders on inexcusable.

That aside, this year’s ceremony was a breezy affair Peppered with star presenters like Kristen Stewart and Javier Bardem and an assortment of diverse, exciting winners all showing that even if the theatrical experience is hanging on by a thread, great films are still out there being made. One hopes, however, that in the future while we celebrate said films, we don’t forget the work that went into them below the line.

This year’s winners are as follows:

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

A Chiara
Producers: Jonas Carpignano, Paolo Carpignano, Jon Coplon, Ryan Zacarias

C’mon C’mon
Producers: Chelsea Barnard, Andrea Longacre-White, Lila Yacoub

WINNER: The Lost Daughter
Producers: Charles Dorfman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman Keren, Talia Kleinhendler

The Novice
Producers: Ryan Hawkins, Kari Hollend, Steven Sims, Zack Zucker

Zola
Producers: Kara Baker, Dave Franco, Elizabeth Haggard, David Hinojosa, Vince Jolivette, Christine Vachon, Gia Walsh

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)

WINNER: 7 Days
Director: Roshan Sethi
Producers: Liz Cardenas, Mel Eslyn

Holler
Director: Nicole Riegel
Producers: Adam Cobb, Rachel Gould, Katie Mcneill, Jamie Patricof, Christy Spitzer Thornton

Queen of Glory
Director: Nana Mensah
Producers: Baff Akoto, Anya Migdal, Kelley Robins Hicks, Jamund Washington

Test Pattern
Director/Producer: Shatara Michelle Ford
Producers: Pin-Chun Liu, Yu-Hao Su

Wild Indian
Director/Producer: Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
Producers: Thomas Mahoney, Eric Tavitian

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD Given to the best feature made for under $500,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

Cryptozoo
Writer/Director: Dash Shaw
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Kyle Martin, Jane Samborski, Bill Way

Jockey
Writer/Director/Producer: Clint Bentley
Writer/Producer: Greg Kwedar
Producer: Nancy Schafer

WINNER: Shiva Baby
Writer/Director/Producer: Emma Seligman
Producers: Kieran Altmann, Katie Schiller, Lizzie Shapiro

Sweet Thing
Writer/Director: Alexandre Rockwell
Producers: Louis Anania, Haley Anderson, Kenan Baysal

This is Not a War Story
Writer/Director/Producer: Talia Lugacy
Producers: Noah Lang, Julian West

BEST DIRECTOR

Janicza Bravo
Zola

WINNER: Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Lost Daughter

Lauren Hadaway
The Novice

Mike Mills
C’mon C’mon

Ninja Thyberg
Pleasure

BEST SCREENPLAY

Nikole Beckwith
Together Together

Janicza Bravo, Jeremy O. Harris
Zola

WINNER: Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Lost Daughter

Mike Mills
C’mon C’mon

Todd Stephens
Swan Song

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
Wild Indian

Matt Fifer; Story by Sheldon D. Brown
Cicada

Shatara Michelle Ford
Test Pattern

Fran Kranz
Mass

WINNER: Michael Sarnoski; Story by Vanessa Block, Michael Sarnoski
Pig

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Ante Cheng, Matthew Chuang
Blue Bayou

Lol Crawley
The Humans

Tim Curtin
A Chiara

WINNER: Edu Grau
Passing

Ari Wegner
Zola

BEST EDITING

Affonso Gonçalves
A Chiara

Ali Greer
The Nowhere Inn

Lauren Hadaway, Nathan Nugent
The Novice

WINNER: Joi McMillon
Zola

Enrico Natale
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Isabelle Fuhrman
The Novice

Brittany S. Hall
Test Pattern

Patti Harrison
Together Together

WINNER: Taylour Paige
Zola

Kali Reis
Catch the Fair One

BEST MALE LEAD

Clifton Collins Jr.
Jockey

Frankie Faison
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

Michael Greyeyes
Wild Indian

Udo Kier
Swan Song

WINNER: Simon Rex
Red Rocket

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Jessie Buckley
The Lost Daughter

Amy Forsyth
The Novice

WINNER: Ruth Negga
Passing

Revika Reustle
Pleasure

Suzanna Son
Red Rocket

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Colman Domingo
Zola

Meeko Gattuso
Queen of Glory

WINNER: Troy Kotsur
CODA

Will Patton
Sweet Thing

Chaske Spencer
Wild Indian

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast)

Mass
Director: Fran Kranz
Casting Directors: Henry Russell Bergstein, Allison Estrin
Ensemble Cast: Kagen Albright, Reed Birney, Michelle N. Carter, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Breeda Wool

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

Ascension
Director/Producer: Jessica Kingdon
Producers: Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell

Flee
Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Producers: Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen

In the Same Breath
Director/Producer: Nanfu Wang
Producers: Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, Jialing Zhang

Procession
Director: Robert Greene
Producers: Susan Bedusa, Bennett Elliott, Douglas Tirola

WINNER: Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Producers: David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

Compartment No. 6
Finland/Russia
Director: Juho Kuosmanen

WINNER: Drive My Car
Japan
Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Parallel Mothers
Spain
Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Pebbles
India
Director: P S Vinothraj

Petite Maman
France
Director: Céline Sciamma

Prayers for the Stolen
Mexico
Director: Tatiana Huezo

PRODUCERS AWARD (The Producers Award, now in its 24th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films.)

Brad Becker-Parton

Pin-Chun Liu

WINNER: Lizzie Shapiro

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD (The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 27th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.)

WINNER: Alex Camilleri
Luzzu

Michael Sarnoski
Pig

Gillian Wallace Horvat
I Blame Society

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD (The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 26th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.)

Angelo Madsen Minax
North By Current

WINNER: Jessica Beshir
Faya Dayi

Debbie Lum
Try Harder!

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

WINNER: Black and Missing
Series By/Executive Producers: Soledad O’Brien, Geeta Gandbhir
Executive Producers: Jo Honig, Patrick Conway, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez

The Choe Show
Creator/Exec Producer: David Choe
Executive Producers: Matt Revelli, Christopher C. Chen, Hiro Murai, Nate Matteson

The Lady and The Dale
Executive Producers: Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Allen Bain, Andre Gaines, Nick Cammilleri, Alana Carithers, Zackary Drucker, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller

Nuclear Family
Series By: Ry Russo-Young
Executive Producers: Liz Garbus, Julie Gaither, Jon Bardin, Leah Holzer, Peter Saraf, Alex Turtletaub, Jenny Raskin, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Lauren Haber, Maria Zuckerman, Christine Connor, Ryan Heller, Barbara Dobkin, Eric Dobkin, Andrea Van Beuren, Joe Landauer

Philly D.A.
Creators: Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, Nicole Salazar
Executive Producers: Dawn Porter, Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen, Ryan Chanatry, Gena Konstantinakos, Jeff Seelbach, Patty Quillin
Co-Executive Producers: Nion McEvoy, Leslie Berriman

BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

Blindspotting
Creators/Executive Producers: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs
Executive Producers: Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Ken Lee, Tim Palen, Emily Gerson Saines, Seith Mann

It’s a Sin
Executive Producers: Russell T Davies, Peter Hoar, Nicola Shindler

WINNER: Reservation Dogs
Creators/Executive Producers: Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi
Executive Producer: Garrett Basch

The Underground Railroad
Creator/Executive Producer: Barry Jenkins
Executive Producers: Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Colson Whitehead, Richard Heus, Jacqueline Hoyt

We Are Lady Parts

Creator: Nida Manzoor
Executive Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Surian Fletcher-Jones, Mark Freeland

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

WINNER: Thuso Mbedu
The Underground Railroad

Anjana Vasan
We Are Lady Parts

Jana Schmieding
Rutherford Falls

Jasmine Cephus Jones
Blindspotting

Deborah Ayorinde
THEM: Covenant

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

WINNER: Lee Jung-jae
Squid Game

Olly Alexander
It’s a Sin

Michael Greyeyes
Rutherford Falls

Murray Bartlett
The White Lotus

Ashley Thomas
THEM: Covenant

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES

WINNER: Reservation Dogs
Ensemble Cast: Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paulina Alexis, Sarah Podemski, Zahn McClarnon, Lil Mike, FunnyBone