The Awardist Uncut Gems, Lighthouse lead 2020 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations Adam Sandler, Robert Pattinson, Jennifer Lopez, more land acting nominations. By Joey Nolfi Joey Nolfi Entertainment Weekly's Oscars expert, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' beat reporter, host of 'Quick Drag' Twitter Spaces, and cohost of 'EW's BINGE' podcast. Almost all of the drag content on this site is my fault (you're welcome). EW's editorial guidelines Published on November 21, 2019 01:32PM EST The 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards have lit a pre-Oscar fire for several major contenders in the awards race. Leading the pack of independent-leaning nominees — as announced Thursday afternoon by Zazie Beetz and Natasha Lyonne — are Uncut Gems and The Lighthouse, which earned five nominations apiece, including the former's nod for Adam Sandler's lead performance. Though Uncut Gems received a nomination in the Best Feature category, The Lighthouse did not, despite garnering across-the-board support for its cast (both Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe scored nominations), directing (Robert Eggers), cinematography, and editing. On the acting side, Hustlers star Jennifer Lopez, Judy's Renée Zellweger, Clemency actress Alfre Woodard, Shia LaBeouf (Honey Boy), and The Farewell's Zhao Shuzhen also bolstered bids for Oscar attention with Indie Spirit nominations this year. Traditionally held the day before the Oscars, the Indie Spirits honor achievements in movies made for around $20 million, though standards have fluctuated in recent years. The awards are voted for by members of Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the profile of independent cinema and diversity in the industry. Though not always a steadfast indicator of Academy tastes (Film Independent's voting base is made up of anyone who wants to pay to join, regardless of standing in/proximity to Hollywood), the Indie Spirits typically forecast a general direction the awards race might be heading in. For example, 2017's Moonlight, 2016's Spotlight, 2015's Birdman, and 2014's 12 Years A Slave won top honors at the Spirit Awards before going on to score major Oscar nominations in addition to winning Best Picture. Last year, Indie Spirit contenders like Glenn Close (The Wife), Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), and Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) went on to win or be nominated for acting Oscars as well. This year, several high-profile contenders were ineligible for Indie Spirit nominations, however, including big-budgeted studio pictures like Todd Phillips' Joker, Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Sam Mendes' 1917, Jay Roach's Bombshell, Greta Gerwig's Little Women, Michael Engler's Downton Abbey, and James Mangold's Ford v Ferrari. The 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony will air live Saturday, Feb. 8. on IFC. Read on for the full list of nominations. 2020 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.) A Hidden Life Producers: Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Josh Jeter Clemency Producers: Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, Peter Wong The Farewell Producers: Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Lulu Wang, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng Marriage Story Producers: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman Uncut Gems Producers: Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Scott Rudin BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer) Booksmart Director: Olivia Wilde Producers: Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, Katie Silberman The Climb Director/Producer: Michael Angelo Covino Producers: Noah Lang, Kyle Marvin Diane Director: Kent Jones Producers: Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, Oren Moverman The Last Black Man in San Francisco Director/Producer: Joe Talbot Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Khaliah Neal, Christina Oh The Mustang Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Producer: Ilan Goldman See You Yesterday Director: Stefon Bristol Producer: Spike Lee JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.) Burning Cane Writer/Director/Producer: Phillip Youmans Producers: Ojo Akinlana, Jakob Johnson, Karen Kaia Livers, Mose Mayer, Wendell Pierce, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans Colewell Writer/Director: Tom Quinn Producers: Joshua Blum, Alexandra Byer, Craig Shilowich, Matthew Thurm Give Me Liberty Writer/Director/Producer: Kirill Mikhanovsky Writer/Producer: Alice Austen Producers: Val Abel, Wally Hall, Michael Manasseri, George Rush, Sergey Shtern Premature Writer/Director/Producer: Rashaad Ernesto Green Writer: Zora Howard Producer: Darren Dean, Joy Ganes Wild Nights With Emily Writer/Director/Producer: Madeleine Olnek Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Max Rifkind-Barron BEST DIRECTOR Alma Har'el Honey Boy Lorene Scafaria Hustlers Julius Onah Luce Robert Eggers The Lighthouse Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie Uncut Gems BEST SCREENPLAY Noah Baumbach Marriage Story Jason Begue, Shawn Snyder To Dust Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie Uncut Gems Chinonye Chukwu Clemency Tarell Alvin McCraney High Flying Bird BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Fredrica Bailey & Stefon Bristol See You Yesterday Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen Driveways Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy Blow the Man Down Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe Greener Grass James Montague & Craig W. Sanger The Vast of Night BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Todd Banhazl Hustlers Jarin Blaschke The Lighthouse Natasha Braier Honey Boy Chananun Chotrungroj The Third Wife Pawel Pogorzelski Midsommar BEST EDITING Julie Béziau The Third Wife Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie Uncut Gems Tyler L. Cook Sword of Trust Louise Ford The Lighthouse Kirill Mikhanovsky Give Me Liberty BEST FEMALE LEAD Karen Allen Colewell Hong Chau Driveways Elisabeth Moss Her Smell Mary Kay Place Diane Alfre Woodard Clemency Renée Zellweger Judy BEST MALE LEAD Chris Galust Give Me Liberty Kelvin Harrison Jr. Luce Robert Pattinson The Lighthouse Matthias Schoenaerts The Mustang Adam Sandler Uncut Gems BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE Jennifer Lopez Hustlers Taylor Russell Waves Lauren "LoLo" Spencer Give Me Liberty Octavia Spencer Luce Zhao Shuzhen The Farewell BEST SUPPORTING MALE Willem Dafoe The Lighthouse Noah Jupe Honey Boy Shia LaBeouf Honey Boy Jonathan Majors The Last Black Man in San Francisco Wendell Pierce Burning Cane ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast Marriage Story Director: Noah Baumbach Casting Directors: Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler Ensemble Cast: Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Julie Hagerty, Scarlett Johansson, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Merritt Wever BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer) American Factory Director/Producer: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert Producers: Julie Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert Apollo 11 Director/Producer: Todd Douglas Miller Producers: Evan Krauss, Thomas Baxley Petersen For Sama Director: Edward Watts Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab Honeyland Director: Tamara Kotevska Director/Producer: Ljubo Stefanov Producer: Atanas Georgiev Island of the Hungry Ghosts Director/Producer: Gabrielle Brady Producers: Gizem Acarla, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Alexander Wadouh BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director) Invisible Life Brazil Director: Karim Aïnouz Les Misérables France Director: Ladj Ly Parasite South Korea Director: Bong Joon-Ho Portrait of a Lady on Fire France Director: Céline Sciamma Retablo Peru Director: Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L. The Souvenir United Kingdom Director: Joanna Hogg BONNIE AWARD – Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the third Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines. Marielle Heller Kelly Reichardt Lulu Wang PRODUCERS AWARD – The 23rd annual 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. Mollye Asher Krista Parris Ryan Zacarias SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 26th annual 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. Rashaad Ernesto Green Director of Premature Ash Mayfair Director of The Third Wife Joe Talbot Director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 25th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant. Khalik Allah Director of Black Mother Davy Rothbart Director of 17 Blocks Nadia Shihab Director of Jaddoland Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside Director of América Related content: Here are EW's early predictions for the 2020 Oscar nominations 2019-2020 awards season calendar: Key dates for the Oscars, Grammys, more Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver score pre-Oscar award for Marriage Story