On Sunday afternoon, exactly a month before the 2026 Academy Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards were handed out and Netflix’s “Train Dreams” was the big winner for the night, taking home prizes for Best Feature, Best Director (Clint Bentley), and Best Cinematography (Adolpho Veloso). Netflix also dominated the TV side of the event with the awards juggernaut that is “Adolescence” taking home most of the major prizes. Other big winners at the show hosted by Ego Nwodim included Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Eva Victor & Naomi Ackie for “Sorry, Baby,” Alex Russell for “Lurker,” and “The Secret Agent,” winner for Best International Film.
All the winners can be found below:
Best Feature: “Train Dreams”
Best Director: Clint Bentley, “Train Dreams”
Best Screenplay: Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby”
Best First Feature: “Lurker”
Best First Screenplay: “Lurker”
John Cassavetes Award: “Esta Isla (The Island)”
Best Breakthrough Performance: Kayo Martin, “The Plague”
Best Supporting Performance: Naomi Ackie, “Sorry, Baby”
Best Lead Performance: Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Robert Altman Award: “The Long Walk”
Best Cinematography: Adolpho Veloso, “Train Dreams”
Best Editing: Sofia Subercaseaux, “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Best International Film: “The Secret Agent”
Best Documentary: “The Perfect Neighbor”
Someone to Watch Award: Tatti Ribeiro, “Valentina”
Truer Than Fiction Award: Rajee Samarasinghe, “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible”
Producers Award: Tony Yang
Best New Scripted Series: “Adolescence”
Best New Non-Scripted Series of Documentary Series: “Pee-Wee as Himself”
Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series: Owen Cooper, “Adolescence”
Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series: Erin Doherty, “Adolescence”
Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series: Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”
Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series: “Chief of War”
