Independent Spirit Awards celebrate indie movies and TV in Los Angeles

Independent Spirit Awards celebrate indie movies and TV in Los Angeles 1 of 5 | Host Ego Nwodim speaks during the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) 2 of 5 | Eva Victor, left, accept the award for best screenplay for “Sorry, Baby” during the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Amy Madigan looks on from right.(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) 3 of 5 | Rose Byrne arrives at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) 4 of 5 | Tessa Thompson arrives at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) 5 of 5 | Keke Palmer arrives at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) 1 of 5 Host Ego Nwodim speaks during the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 5 Eva Victor, left, accept the award for best screenplay for “Sorry, Baby” during the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Amy Madigan looks on from right.(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 5 Rose Byrne arrives at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 5 Tessa Thompson arrives at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 5 Keke Palmer arrives at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Ethan Hawke,Rose Byrne and Keke Palmer are just a few of the actors up for prizes at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles. Comedian and “Saturday Night Live” veteran Ego Nwodim is hosting the celebration of independent film and television, which is being livestreamed on YouTube.“In the spirit of independent filmmaking, we don’t have a permit,” Nwodim said in her opening. “If I shout ‘cameras down,’ you know what to do.”Top nominees going into the 41st edition of the show include Ira Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day,” which recreates an interview with the 1970s photographer, played by Ben Whishaw; Clint Bentley’s lyrical Denis Johnson adaptation “Train Dreams,” with Joel Edgerton; and Eva Victor’s “Sorry, Baby,” about life after an assault.The show, which serves as a fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, was held at the Hollywood Palladium for the first time since 1994, as its longtime beachside perch in Santa Monica undergoes renovations. “The Secret Agent” won the international feature prize. The film is also nominated for best picture and best international film at the Oscars. “I really believe that programming films in the cinemas is more and more a political act,” said director Kleber Mendonça Filho.He dedicated the award to the late actor Udo Kier, who was part of the ensemble of “The Secret Agent.”“The Perfect Neighbor,” about a deadly shooting incident in Florida constructed primarily from police bodycam footage, won best documentary. Filmmaker and producer Geeta Gandbhir thanked Netflix for “giving us a global platform.” It’s also up for the best documentary Oscar. Victor won the screenplay prize for “Sorry, Baby.” Naomi Ackie also won the supporting award for Victor’s film, over fellow nominees like Zoey Deutch (“Nouvelle Vague”), Kirsten Dunst (“Roofman”), Nina Hoss (“Hedda”) and Archie Madekwe (“Lurker”). The awards sometimes overlap significantly with major Oscar contenders and winners, as it did with “Anora,” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” and sometimes not. Organizers limit eligibility to productions with budgets less than $30 million, meaning more expensive films like “One Battle After Another” are not in the running.Byrne is one of the few actors nominated for both a Spirit Award and an Oscar, for her performance as a mother on the edge in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” In the lead performance category, she’s up against the likes of Edgerton (“Train Dreams”), Dylan O’Brien (“Twinless”), Palmer (“One of Them Days”), Tessa Thompson (“Hedda”) and Whishaw. The organization switched to gender-neutral acting categories in 2022.Hawke, who is nominated for an Oscar for “Blue Moon,” is up for a Spirit Award for his leading performance in the television series “The Lowdown,” where other nominees include Seth Rogen for “The Studio,” Stephen Graham for “Adolescence” and Noah Wyle for “The Pitt.”“Adolescence” won new scripted series, best supporting actor for Erin Doherty, a role she also won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for, and the breakthrough prize for Owen Cooper. Bahr has been a film writer and critic for The Associated Press since 2014.