The Spirit Awards, one of the nation’s most prominent awards celebrating the best in independent film and television, will no longer divide its acting awards categories into male and female performances.
On Tuesday, Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization behind the prestigious awards, announced major changes to its 38th annual edition, set to take place on March 4.
“We’re thrilled to join the other festivals and award shows that are already moving to celebrate great acting without reference to gender,” the organization’s president, Josh Welsh, said in a statement.
“We’re also happy to welcome non-binary performers into the Spirit Awards without forcing them to choose to identify as male or female,” he added.
Film Independent is the latest arts organization to implement non-gendered awards as a way to honor its “long-standing commitment to inclusivity and representation,” organizers said in a statement.
Other awards that have embraced non-gendered categories include the Grammys, the Gotham Awards, the British Independent Film Awards and the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
All nominees for the 2023 Spirit Awards will be grouped into a “best lead performance” category for film, and a “best lead performance in a new scripted series” for television, which will feature up to 10 nominees each.
The same will happen with the supporting categories: Up to 10 nominees for “best supporting performance” in film; and up to 10 nominees for “best supporting performance in a new scripted series” for television — which is a new award.
A new category for film will also be introduced next year: “best breakthrough performance,” which will feature up to five nominees.
Organizers say that the budget cap for eligible films has increased to $30 million (from $22.5 million in 2019) “in response to the rising cost of production.” The budget cap for the John Cassavetes Award, which is presented to a film’s writer, director and producer, increased from $500,000 to $1 million.
“It has been a long time since we substantially increased the budget limit for eligibility,” Welsh said. “This new cap allows us to continue to celebrate the same breadth of work that we have in the past.”
Last year’s John Cassavetes Award went to Emma Seligman, who directed and wrote “Shiva Baby,” a comedy about a young bisexual Jewish woman attending a shiva with her parents.
For next year’s award, the organization will once again waive the theatrical run typically required for eligibility “in response to the continuing effects of COVID on filmmakers and the industry” as a way to ensure more opportunities for independent filmmakers “to be recognized and celebrated.”
Film nominations for the 2023 Spirit Awards will be announced virtually on Nov. 22. Television nominations will be announced on Dec. 13.
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