# 34th Independent Spirit Awards

The 34th Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films of 2018, were presented by Film Independent on February 23, 2019. The nominations were announced on November 16, 2018 by actresses Molly Shannon and Gemma Chan. The ceremony was televised in the United States by IFC, taking place inside its usual tent setting on a beach in Santa Monica, California. It was hosted by Aubrey Plaza.

## Winners and nominees

| Best Feature | Best Director |
| If Beale Street Could Talk Eighth Grade First Reformed Leave No Trace You Were Never Really Here | Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk Debra Granik – Leave No Trace Tamara Jenkins – Private Life Lynne Ramsay – You Were Never Really Here Paul Schrader – First Reformed |
| Best Male Lead | Best Female Lead |
| Ethan Hawke – First Reformed as Pastor Ernst Toller John Cho – Searching as David Kim Daveed Diggs – Blindspotting as Collin Hoskins Christian Malheiros – Sócrates as Sócrates Joaquin Phoenix – You Were Never Really Here as Joe | Glenn Close – The Wife as Joan Castleman Toni Collette – Hereditary as Annie Graham Elsie Fisher – Eighth Grade as Kayla Day Regina Hall – Support the Girls as Lisa Conroy Helena Howard – Madeline's Madeline as Madeline Carey Mulligan – Wildlife as Jeanette Brinson |
| Best Supporting Male | Best Supporting Female |
| Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Jack Hock Raúl Castillo – We the Animals as Paps Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman as Detective Philip "Flip" Zimmerman Josh Hamilton – Eighth Grade as Mark Day John David Washington – Monsters and Men as Dennis Williams | Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk as Sharon Rivers Kayli Carter – Private Life as Sadie Barrett Tyne Daly – A Bread Factory as Dorothea Thomasin McKenzie – Leave No Trace as Tom J. Smith-Cameron – Nancy as Ellen Lynch |
| Best Screenplay | Best First Screenplay |
| Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty – Can You Ever Forgive Me? Richard Glatzer, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, and Wash Westmoreland – Colette Tamara Jenkins – Private Life Boots Riley – Sorry to Bother You Paul Schrader – First Reformed | Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade Christina Choe – Nancy Cory Finley – Thoroughbreds Jennifer Fox – The Tale Laurie Shephard and Quinn Shephard – Blame |
| Best First Feature | Best Documentary Feature |
| Boots Riley – Sorry to Bother You Ari Aster – Hereditary Paul Dano – Wildlife Jennifer Fox – The Tale Jeremiah Zagar – We the Animals | Won't You Be My Neighbor? Hale County This Morning, This Evening Minding the Gap Of Fathers and Sons On Her Shoulders Shirkers |
| Best Cinematography | Best Editing |
| Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Suspiria Ashley Connor – Madeline's Madeline Diego García – Wildlife Benjamin Loeb – Mandy Zak Mulligan – We the Animals | Joe Bini – You Were Never Really Here Keiko Deguchi, 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 International Film ||
| Roma ( Mexico) Burning ( South Korea) The Favourite ( United Kingdom) Happy as Lazzaro ( Italy) Shoplifters ( Japan) ||

### Films with multiple nominations and awards

Films that received multiple nominations :
| Nominations | Film |
| 4 | Eighth Grade |
| 4 | First Reformed |
| 4 | We the Animals |
| 4 | You Were Never Really Here |
| 3 | If Beale Street Could Talk |
| 3 | Leave No Trace |
| 3 | Private Life |
| 3 | Sócrates |
| 3 | The Tale |
| 3 | Wildlife |
| 2 | A Bread Factory |
| 2 | Can You Ever Forgive Me? |
| 2 | Hale County This Morning, This Evening |
| 2 | Hereditary |
| 2 | Madeline's Madeline |
| 2 | Minding the Gap |
| 2 | Nancy |
| 2 | On Her Shoulders |
| 2 | Sorry to Bother You |
| 2 | Suspiria |
Films that won multiple awards :
| Awards | Film |
| 3 | If Beale Street Could Talk |
| 2 | Can You Ever Forgive Me? |

## Special awards
### John Cassavetes Award

En el séptimo día
* A Bread Factory
* Never Goin' Back
* Sócrates
* Thunder Road

### Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble)

(The award is given to its film director, casting director, and ensemble cast)
* Suspiria

### Kiehl's Someone to Watch Award

Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl's.
* Alex Moratto – Sócrates
** Ioana Uricaru – Lemonade
** Jeremiah Zagar – We the Animals

### The BONNIE Award

Recognizes mid-career women directors with a body of work that demonstrates uniqueness of vision and a groundbreaking approach to film making. The award includes a $50,000 unrestricted grant funded by American Airlines.
* Debra Granik
** Tamara Jenkins
** Karyn Kusama

### Piaget Producers Award

Honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
* Shrihari Sathe
** Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams
** Gabrielle Nadig

### Truer than Fiction Award

Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
* Bing Liu – Minding the Gap
** Alexandria Bombach – On Her Shoulders
** RaMell Ross – Hale County This Morning, This Evening