2021 Independent Spirit Nominations: 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always' Leads The Pack With 'Minari' Close Behind
The 2021 Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced. Along with honoring the best that independent cinema has to offer, this year's Indie Spirit Awards have also introduced a television category, with several awards being handed out for the small screen.
On the feature film side of things, Never Rarely Sometimes Always came out on top with seven total nominations across all categories. Coming up right behind it is the American family drama Minari with six nominations, followed by Nomadland and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, each scoring five nominations overall. See the full list of 2021 Independent Spirit Awards nominations below.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always making a big show after debuting at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival is exactly the kind of thing you like to see from this independent cinema awards show. The film is a true indie with a harrowing story of a teenage girl forced to travel to New York City from Pennsylvania with her cousin in order to get an abortion. It's contemplative, incredibly well-acted, and as authentic as you can get.Minari also has an impressive presence in the Indie Spirit Award nominations this year. In addition to the film being nominated as one of the contenders for Best Feature, lead actor Steven Yeun also earned a nomination, and both Yeri Han and Yuh-jung Youn earned supporting actress nominations. Director Lee Isaac Chung is also up for the directing category.
Finally, rounding out the major nominees, we have Nomadland and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. While Nomadland hit across the spectrum with Best Feature, Best Director, Best Female Lead, Best Editing and Best Cinematography, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom earned a Best Feature nomination and four acting nominations for Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis, Colman Domingo, and Glynn Turman.
Also, in a strange turn, The Invisible Man was somehow nominated for Best Editing. It's not that the movie wouldn't be deserving of such a nomination for editing, but it's absolutely not an independent movie, so we're not really sure how it qualified.
Check out the full list of 2021 Independent Spirit Awards nominations below, along with the announcement video, and tune in when the awards are handed out live on Thursday, April 22 at 10:00 P.M. EST on IFC.
2021 Independent Spirit Award Nominations - Movie Awards
BEST FEATUREFirst CowMa Rainey's Black BottomMinariNever Rarely Sometimes AlwaysNomadlandBEST FIRST FEATURE I Carry You With MeThe Forty-Year-Old VersionMiss JuneteenthNine DaysSound of MetalBEST DIRECTORLee Isaac Chung – Minari
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Eliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Kelly Reichardt – First Cow
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Nicole Beharie – Miss Juneteenth
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Sidney Flanigan – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Julia Garner – The Assistant
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
BEST MALE LEAD
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Adarsh Gourav – The White Tiger
Rob Morgan – Bull
Steven Yeun – Minari
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Colman Domingo – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Orion Lee – First Cow
Paul Raci – Sound of Metal
Glynn Turman – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Benedict Wong – Nine Days
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Alexis Chikaeze – Miss Juneteenth
Yeri Han – Minari
Valerie Mahaffe – French Exit
Talia Ryder – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Yuh-jung Youn – Minari
BEST SCREENPLAYLee Isaac Chung – MinariEmerald Fennell – Promising Young WomanEliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Mike Makowsky – Bad Education
Alice Wu – The Half Of ItBEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Kitty Green – The Assistant
Noah Hutton – Lapsis
Channing Godfrey Peoples – Miss Juneteenth
Andy Siara – Palm Springs
James Sweeney – Straight Up
BEST DOCUMENTARY CollectiveCrip CampDick Johnson is DeadThe Mole AgentTimeBEST EDITINGThe Invisible ManNever Rarely Sometimes AlwaysResidueI Carry You With MeNomadlandBEST CINEMATOGRAPHYShe Dies TomorrowBullThe AssistantNever Rarely Sometimes AlwaysNomadlandBEST INTERNATIONAL FILM Bacurau (Brazil)The Disciple (India)Night of the Kings (Ivory Coast)Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (Hungary)Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)ROBERT ALTMAN AWARDOne Night in Miami (Regina King)JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Best feature made for under $500,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
The Killing of Two LoversLa Leyenda NegraLingua FrancaResidueSaint FrancesPRODUCERS AWARDKara Durrett
Lucas Joaquin
Gerry Kim
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
David Midell – Director of The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
Ekwa Msangi – Director of Farewell Amor
Annie Silverstein – Director of BullTRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Cecilia Aldarondo – Director of Landfall
Elegance Bratton – Director of Pier KidsElizabeth Lo – Director of Stray
2021 Independent Spirit Award Nominations - Television Awards
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIESAtlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost ChildrenCity So RealImmigration NationLove FraudWe're HereBEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIESI May Destroy YouLittle AmericaSmall AxeA TeacherUnorthodoxBEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIESElle Fanning – The Great
Shira Haas – Unorthodox
Abby McEnany – Work in Progress
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan – Never Have I Ever
Jordan Kristine Seamón – We Are Who We Are
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIESConphidance – Little America
Adam Ali – Little America
Nicco Annan – P-Valley
Amit Rahav – Unorthodox
Harold Torres – Zero, Zero, Zero
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIESI May Destroy You