The biggest (and shockingly only) surprise of the night came in Best Actor where Chadwick Boseman, who had been dominating the awards season during the televised awards, lost to Riz Ahmed. Boseman did very little in the indie community while Ahmed more than paid his dues, which might account for his success tonight. Everything else went largely as expected and it was nice to finally see Carey Mulligan win something major over Viola Davis after unfairly losing at SAG.

Awards Tallies

(4) Nomadland
(3) Sound of Metal
(2) Promising Young Woman
(1) Crip Camp, Minari, One Night in Miami, Palm Springs, Residue

The Awards

Best Feature

Nomadland (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

Best First Feature

Sound of Metal (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

John Cassavetes Award

Residue (RU:Tripp)

Best Director

Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

Best Female Lead

Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

Best Male Lead

Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal (Thomas, RU:Wesley, RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)

Best Supporting Female

Youn Yuh-jung – Minari (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

Best Supporting Male

Paul Raci – Sound of Metal (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

Best Screenplay

Promising Young Woman (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

Best First Screenplay

Palm Springs (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, RU:Thomas)

Best Editing

Nomadland (Peter, Tripp, Thomas, RU:Wesley)

Best Cinematography

Nomadland (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

Best International Film

Quo Vadis, Aida? (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)

Best Documentary

Crip Camp (RU:Thomas)

Robert Altman Award for Best Ensemble (Previously Announced)

One Night in Miami

Spirit Awards Data

First Awards: 1985 (36)