Those seeking a bit of clarity to help them refine their early Oscar predictions likely won't be impressed by the 2018 Film Independent Spirit nominations, as many of the hottest Oscar hopefuls were left wanting for attention. Eligible titles such as BlacKkKlansman and Can You Ever Forgive Me? earned only one and two nominations respectively, The Favourite and Roma were relegated to the International Film category exclusively, and naturally the major studio titles did not qualify. Indeed, this year's crop is refreshingly light on features from big studio offshoots, and offers three female nominees for Best Director for the first time in the Spirit Awards' history. Eighth Grade, First Reformed and You Were Never Really Here claim four nominations each, though the most-nominated movie this year isn't even up for the top award - Jeremiah Zagar's We the Animals notches up five mentions, despite missing out on Best Feature. As per convention, the awards ceremony will take place on Oscar eve, the 23rd of February. Check out the nominations in full below.
Best Feature
Eighth Grade
First Reformed
If Beale Street Could Talk
Leave No Trace
You Were Never Really Here
Best Director
Debra Granik (Leave No Trace)
Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Tamara Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here)
Paul Schrader (First Reformed)
Best Female Lead
Glenn Close (The Wife)
Toni Collette (Hereditary)
Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)
Regina Hall (Support the Girls)
Helena Howard (Madeline's Madeline)
Carey Mulligan (Wildlife)
Best Male Lead
John Cho (Searching)
Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting)
Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)
Christian Malheiros (Socrates)
Joaquin Phoenix (You Were Never Really Here)
Best Supporting Female
Kayli Carter (Private Life)
Tyne Daly (A Bread Factory)
Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace)
Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
J. Smith-Cameron (Nancy)
Best Supporting Male
Raul Castillo (We the Animals)
Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman)
Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Josh Hamilton (Eighth Grade)
John David Washington (Monsters and Men)
Best Screenplay
Richard Glatzer, Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Wash Westmoreland (Colette)
Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Tamara Jenkins (Private Life)
Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You)
Paul Schrader (First Reformed)
Best Cinematography
Ashley Connor (Madeline's Madeline)
Diego Garcia (Wildlife)
Benjamin Loeb (Mandy)
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Suspiria)
Zak Mulligan (We the Animals)
Best Editing
Joe Bini (You Were Never Really Here)
Deguchi Keiko, Brian A. Kates and Jeremiah Zagar (We the Animals)
Luke Dunkley, Nick Fenton, Chris Gill and Julian Hart (American Animals)
Anne Fabini, Alex Hall and Gary Levy (The Tale)
Nick Houy (Mid90s)
Best Documentary
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
On Her Shoulders
Shirkers
Best International Film
Burning
The Favourite
Happy as Lazzaro
Roma
Shoplifters
Best First Feature
Hereditary
Sorry to Bother You
The Tale
We the Animals
Wildlife
Best First Screenplay
Bo Burnham (Eighth Grade)
Christina Choe (Nancy)
Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds)
Jennifer Fox (The Tale)
Laurie Shephard and Quinn Shephard (Blame)
Robert Altman Award
Suspiria
John Cassavetes Award
A Bread Factory
En el Septimo Dia
Never Goin' Back
Socrates
Thunder Road
Bonnie Award
Debra Granik
Tamara Jenkins
Karyn Kusama
Piaget Producers Award
Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams
Gabrielle Nadig
Shrihari Sathe
Someone to Watch Award
Alex Moratto (Socrates)
Ioana Uricaru (Lemonade)
Jeremiah Zagar (We the Animals)
Truer Than Fiction Award
Alexandria Bombach (On Her Shoulders)
Liu Bing (Minding the Gap)
RaMell Ross (Hale County This Morning, This Evening)