The Spirits have sometimes been a laid-back dress rehearsal for the Academy Awards.
Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” won best feature at the 36th Independent Spirit Awards in a ceremony that turned the annual beach soiree into a virtual, mostly pre-taped event, and, possibly, an Oscar preview. The Spirits, usually held in a giant tent on the Southern California coast, have sometimes been a laid back dress rehearsal for the Academy Awards. “Moonlight,” “Spotlight,” “Birdman” and “12 Years a Slave” all won at the Spirits before taking best picture at the Oscars the next day, though top winners (“The Farewell” won the Spirits’ top prize in 2020) have diverged the last few years. But many of the same contenders overlapped this year, including “Minari,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Promising Young Woman” and “Sound of Metal.” And “Nomadland” has been on a steady march to the Oscars. The film’s Spirit win follows others at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the producers guild and the directors guild. Zhao also won best director Thursday at the Spirits, an honor she’s heavily favored to win at the Academy Awards. It was a fitting victory for Zhao’s modest drama about rootlessness and community in the American West.
