If awards ceremonies were a family dinner table, the Independent Spirit Awards 2026 would be the cool, artsy cousin. Since 1984, nonprofit arts org Film Independent has been honoring American TV and filmmakers who operate outside the studio system, with an annual awards ceremony that falls between the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. The event packs enough prestige that while you might not recognize every winner now, it’s likely you will in a year or two.
But while in past years you might have to head to an arthouse—or at least open up Kanopy—to see winning entries, at the 41st ceremony, which was held on Sunday, February 15, the biggest winner has been on Netflix since last fall. Train Dreams, Clint Bentley‘s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, took home best feature and best cinematographer; Bentley also won best director. In a passionate acceptance speech, Bentley mulled aloud the existential struggle of making art in a society that seems dead set on destroying itself.
“In a world where there’s so many people trying to put up walls and put people in cages and divide people, we’re making little communities and we’re putting goodness into the world,” he said. “And when there’s a lot of people trying to do the opposite, I think that’s worth doing. Who knows where it’ll lead us, but I think it’s worth trying to make the world a little bit better every little step we can.”
Lurker, written and directed by new filmmaker Alex Russell, also got a nice bump on Sunday, with Russell winning both the best first screenplay and best first feature awards. The former writer for The Bear—he penned “Forks,” one of the best episodes of the series—returned to food drama during his words of acceptance. “In the case of first features, so many people had to be that food critic in Ratatouille and say, ‘Okay, maybe let’s give this kid a chance, even if it makes us look stupid.’ And that can mean anything from putting up financing to just, like, forwarding an email, but it can amaze you how much no one cares at the beginning, and then it’s so much more meaningful when someone does.”
This was the first year in many that the ceremony was not held at the Santa Monica pier. Construction for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics bumped it to the Hollywood Palladium, a more traditional Sunset Boulevard location that left the awards feeling a little stiffer and aspirationally polished, despite efforts from host Ego Nwodim to loosen things up. But we were still reminded that this was the Indie Spirits by a height problem with the mic that no one seemed to be able to fix (if everyone looked like they were stooping during their acceptance speeches, that’s because they were) and the gender neutral acting categories. But while a few men scored acting trophies, it was women who seemed to be greeted with the most applause.
Rose Byrne, who won best lead performance for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, received an especially rousing ovation. “This character of Linda really could only exist in an independent film. She’s fierce. and she’s gracious, and she’s a middle-aged woman,” Byrne said. On the opposite end of that was 15-year-old Kayo Martin, who won best breakthrough performance for The Plague. “For a while, all I knew was skateboarding and boxing and competition,” the athlete and influencer said. “But acting has opened up a completely new part of my brain. It really shows what we can do and what we are capable of if we really put our minds to it … I’m so so so excited for what’s going to be coming next. It’s going to be fire.
Read on for all the winners at the Independent Spirit Awards 2026, and check out all the looks from the red carpet and the best-dressed attendees. Looking for more awards stories? Then don’t miss Vanity Fair’s complete coverage of the 2026 awards season.
Film categories
Best feature
WINNER: Train Dreams
Peter Hujar’s Day
The Plague
Sorry, Baby
Twinless
Best first feature
WINNER: Lurker
Blue Sun Palace
Dust Bunny
East of Wall
One of Them Days
(L-R) Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones Molina accept the John Cassavetes Award for Esta Isla (This Island)
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
John Cassavetes Award (best feature made for under $1M)
WINNER: Esta Isla (This Island)
The Baltimorons
Boys Go to Jupiter
Eephus
Familiar Touch
Best director
WINNER: 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
Eva Victor accepts the best screenplay award for Sorry, Baby
Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Best screenplay
WINNER: Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Splitsville
Angus MacLachlan, A Little Prayer
James Sweeney, Twinless
Christian Swegal, Sovereign
Alex Russell accepts the best first screenplay award for Lurker
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Best first screenplay
WINNER: Alex Russell, Lurker
Andrew DeYoung, Friendship
Elena Oxman, Outerlands
Syreeta Singleton, One of Them Days
Constance Tsang, Blue Sun Palace
Best lead performance
WINNER: Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Everett Blunck, The Plague
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
WINNER: 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
Kayo Martin accepts the best breakthrough rerformance award for The Plague
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Best breakthrough performance
WINNER: Kayo Martin, The Plague
Liz Larsen, The Baltimorons
Misha Osherovich, She’s the He
SZA, One of Them Days
Tabatha Zimiga, East of Wall
Adolpho Veloso accepts the best cinematography award for Train Dreams
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Best cinematography
WINNER: Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams
Alex Ashe, Peter Hujar’s Day
Norm Li, Blue Sun Palace
David J. Thompson, Warfare
Nicole Hirsch Whitaker, Dust Bunny
Best editing
WINNER: Sofía Subercaseaux, The Testament of Ann Lee
Ben Leonberg, Good Boy
Carson Lund, Eephus
Fin Oates, Warfare
Sara Shaw, Splitsville
Robert Altman Award
WINNER: The Long Walk
(L-R) Nikon Kwantu, Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, and Sam Bisbee accept the best documentary award for The Perfect Neighbor
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Best documentary
WINNER: The Perfect Neighbor
Come See Me in the Good Light
Endless Cookie
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
The Tale of Silyan
(L-R) Kleber Mendonça Filho, Wagner Moura, and Emilie Lesclaux accept the best international film award for The Secret Agent
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Best international film
WINNER: The Secret Agent
All That’s Left of You
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
A Poet
Sirāt
Producers Award
WINNER: Tony Yang
Emma Hannaway
Luca Intili
Someone to Watch Award
WINNER: Tatti Ribeiro, Valentina
Neo Sora, Happyend
Annapurna Sriram, Fucktoys
Truer than Fiction Award
WINNER: Rajee Samarasinghe, Your Touch Makes Others Invisible
Tony Benna, André is an Idiot
Brittany Shyne, Seeds
TV categories
Matt Wolf accepts the best new non-scripted or documentary series award for Pee-wee as Himself
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Best new non-scripted or documentary series
WINNER: Pee-wee as Himself
Citizen Nation
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time
Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television
Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae
Jeremy Kleiner accepts the best new scripted series award for Adolescence
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Best new scripted series
WINNER: Adolescence
Common Side Effects
Forever
Mr Loverman
North of North
Best lead performance in a new scripted series
WINNER: Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Sydney Chandler, Alien: Earth
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
Erin Doherty accepts the best supporting performance in a new scripted series award for Adolescence
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Best supporting performance in a new scripted series
WINNER: Erin Doherty, Adolescence
Ariyon Bakare, Mr Loverman
Babou Ceesay, Alien: Earth
Sharon D Clarke, Mr Loverman
Taylor Dearden, The Pitt
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
WINNER: Owen Cooper, Adolescence
Asif Ali, Deli Boys
Wally Baram, Overcompensating
Michael Cooper Jr., Forever
Ernest Kingsley Junior, Washington Black
Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, James Udom, Moses Goods, Luciane Buchanan, Siua Ikale’o, Cliff Curtis, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes and Brandon Finn accept the best ensemble cast in a new scripted series award for Chief of War.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Best ensemble cast in a new scripted series
WINNER: Chief of War
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