My Spirit Award Ballot
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 11:34PM Please welcome guest contributor Chels Eichholz for this preview of the Spirit Awards...
by Chels Eichholz
Anybody with $100 can be a member of Film Independent. Some people join solely for the screeners and the privilege of voting for the Independent Spirit Awards. Others, like myself, are filmmakers that use the other membership perks to help network and get our projects created, and voting is just a fun little cherry on top. The nominees are decided by small juries and winners are decided by all members. The awards will be held tomorrow Thursday, April 22 at 10:00 pm, exclusively on IFC and AMC+.
If you’re looking for a lineup that balances both an independent spirit and Oscar love, look no further. I do prefer when award shows have their own identity and don't try to predict the Academy Awards. The Oscar race itself isn’t a meritocracy, and Film Independent is great at highlighting unsung gems of the year (along with a few more celebrated Oscar hopefuls). I’ve been a member for a few years now and always make it a point to watch every nominee before voting and this year gave us a great selection. The categories and my own votes after the jump...