{"id":179892,"date":"2026-02-16T07:38:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T07:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/179892\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T07:38:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T07:38:23","slug":"adolescence-and-train-dreams-win-top-prizes-at-film-independent-spirit-awards-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/179892\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Adolescence’ and ‘Train Dreams’ win top prizes at Film Independent Spirit Awards | Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clint Bentley’s lyrical Denis Johnson adaptation \u201cTrain Dreams<\/a> ” won the top film award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards<\/a> on Sunday in Los Angeles, while \u201cAdolescence\u201d dominated the television categories. Both were released on Netflix.<\/p>\n

Bentley also won best director for the film starring Joel Edgerton, whom he thanked profusely for \u201cbeing the heartbeat of our film.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re so grateful to Netflix,\u201d Bentley said. \u201cIt’s very, very hard these days to film in the United States, but it’s worth it and we’re proud to be able to pull it off.”<\/p>\n

Edgerton missed out on the top acting prize, however, which went to Rose Byrne for \u201cIf I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You.\u201d<\/a> The organization switched to gender-neutral acting categories in 2022.<\/p>\n

Byrne was one of the few actors nominated for both a Spirit Award and an Oscar<\/a>, for her performance as a mother on the edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI share this with Mary Bronstein, my writer-director who fought for eight years to get this movie made,\u201d Byrne said.<\/p>\n

She added that this was a film that could have only been made independently. Her character, she said, is \u201cfierce and ferocious and a middle-aged woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdolescence\u201d won new scripted series, best actor for Stephen Graham, best supporting actor for Erin Doherty, and the breakthrough prize for Owen Cooper.<\/p>\n

The show, which serves as a fundraiser for Film Independent\u2019s 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. Comedian and \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d veteran Ego Nwodim<\/a> hosted the celebration of independent film and television, which was livestreamed on YouTube.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the spirit of independent filmmaking, we don\u2019t have a permit,\u201d Nwodim said in her opening. \u201cIf I shout \u2018cameras down,\u2019 you know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Secret Agent\u201d<\/a> won the international feature prize. The film is also nominated for best picture and best international film at the Oscars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe that programming films in the cinemas is more and more a political act,\u201d said director Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho.<\/p>\n

He dedicated the award to the late actor Udo Kier<\/a>, who was part of the ensemble of \u201cThe Secret Agent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Perfect Neighbor,\u201d about a deadly shooting incident in Florida constructed primarily from police bodycam footage, won best documentary. Filmmaker and producer Geeta Gandbhir thanked Netflix for \u201cgiving us a global platform.\u201d It\u2019s also up for the best documentary Oscar.<\/p>\n

Eva Victor won the screenplay prize for \u201cSorry, Baby.” Naomi Ackie also won the supporting award for Victor’s film, over fellow nominees like Zoey Deutch (\u201cNouvelle Vague\u201d)<\/a>, Kirsten Dunst (\u201cRoofman\u201d), Nina Hoss (\u201cHedda\u201d) and Archie Madekwe (\u201cLurker\u201d)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The awards sometimes overlap significantly with major Oscar contenders and winners, as it did with \u201cAnora,\u201d<\/a> and \u201cEverything Everywhere All At Once,\u201d<\/a> and sometimes not. Organizers limit eligibility to productions with budgets less than $30 million, meaning more expensive films like \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d are not in the running.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Clint Bentley’s lyrical Denis Johnson adaptation \u201cTrain Dreams ” won the top film award at the Film Independent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[10286,2869,967,18,84880,48,52,51,47,50,49,48882,1399,4509,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-179892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-celebrity","9":"tag-documentaries","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-general-news","12":"tag-independent-spirit-awards-2026","13":"tag-la","14":"tag-la-headlines","15":"tag-la-news","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","18":"tag-los-angeles-news","19":"tag-media-and-entertainment-industry","20":"tag-movies","21":"tag-television","22":"tag-u-s-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}