Saturday Night Live alum Ego Nwodim will take center stage as host of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards, set for Feb. 15. This year’s ceremony marks a major shift for the long-running event, which moves from its signature Santa Monica Beach tent to a new home at the Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Blvd.
Nominations were unveiled Dec. 3, spotlighting a strong year for independent creatives. On the film side, “Sorry, Baby” leads the Best Feature category, produced by Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins and Adele Romanski. Lawrence Lamont’s “One of Them Days” is a standout across multiple categories, including Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay for Syreeta Singleton, Best Lead Performance for Keke Palmer, and Best Breakthrough Performance for SZA. Other top nominees include Tessa Thompson for “Hedda,” Naomi Ackie for “Sorry, Baby,” and Archie Madekwe for “Lurker.” Documentary honors include “The Perfect Neighbor,” directed by Geeta Gandbhir, while Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” represents Zambia, the UK and Ireland in the Best International Film category. Brittany Shyne earns this year’s Truer Than Fiction Award for her debut feature “Seeds.”
Television categories highlight new scripted and documentary excellence, with “Forever” and “Mr Loverman” leading Best New Scripted Series. Issa Rae–produced “Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television” and “Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time” top the non-scripted field. Performance nominations include Lovie Simone and Lennie James for their lead roles, and supporting nods for Ariyon Bakare, Sharon D. Clarke, Babou Ceesay, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Xosha Roquemore. Breakthrough nods recognize Michael Cooper Jr. for “Forever” and Ernest Kingsley Jr. for “Washington Black.”
Nwodim’s hosting gig adds her to a celebrated list of Spirit Awards emcees, including Queen Latifah, Hasan Minhaj, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, Aidy Bryant, Kumail Nanjiani, Melissa Villaseñor, and John Waters. Beyond SNL, Nwodim’s recent credits include Peacock’s “Poker Face,” HBO’s “It’s Florida, Man,” Apple TV+’s “Roar,” and films like “Players,” “Spin Me Round” and “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.” She also hosts the award-winning podcast “Thanks Dad,” and will soon appear in Hulu’s “Not Suitable for Work,” Netflix’s “Little Brother,” the feature adaptation of “Backyard Baseball,” and Disney and Pixar’s “Hoppers.” This fall she made her Off-Broadway debut at Lincoln Center with a one-woman comedy show for “The Comedy Series.”
The 2026 ceremony also brings back its longtime production team. Executive producer Shawn Davis returns for his 24th year, joined once again by Emmy-winning producers Eddie Delbridge of Live Digital Entertainment and Andrew Schaff.
The Spirit Awards serve as Film Independent’s flagship fundraiser, supporting programs that champion emerging talent and advance diversity and inclusion across film and television. Winners will be announced Feb. 15, with the ceremony streaming live on the Film Independent and IMDb YouTube channels beginning at 2 p.m. PT.