Columbia Filmmakers Nominated for a Slate of Independent Spirit Awards; Bring Home Several Big Wins

Update:

Film Independent celebrated its 2026 Spirit Award Winners at their 41st Annual Ceremony on February 15 in Los Angeles, honoring several Columbia filmmakers and their projects.

In the television category, the year’s major winner was Golden Globe Award-winning Adolescence, executive produced by Dede Gardner (CC '90), which took home four awards—the most for any television show since the Spirit awards began honoring the medium in 2021—including Best New Scripted Series.

In the film category, the award for the Best Documentary went to The Perfect Neighbor, produced by Sam Bisbee (CC '90). The 2025 Netflix documentary examines the shocking story of a 35-year-old Black woman and mother of four who was shot to death by her neighbor in 2023.

Tony Yang '20, the producer who teamed up with alum Constance Tsang '20 for their critically acclaimed feature Blue Sun Palace, received the Producers Award and an unrestricted grant worth $25,000. The annual award, which is in its 29th year and sponsored for the first time by Producers United, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films.

Find the full list of winners here.

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Original: January 7, 2026

The Independent Spirit Awards have celebrated the best in indie cinema, across film and television, for over forty years. The 2026 ceremony will showcase the contributions of six Columbia alums who were nominated for seven awards, including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.

Directing alum Constance Tsang '20 and Producing alum Tony Yang '20 teamed up on Blue Sun Palace, an atmospheric film that follows the lives of a Taiwanese and mainland Chinese immigrant as they eke out a living at a massage parlor in Queens. Blue Sun Palace earned Tsang nominations for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. As producer, Yang shares the nomination for Best First Feature.

Shot entirely on Kodak film, Blue Sun Palace debuted at Cannes, where it won the festival's juried French Touch Prize and put Tsang on the map as an up-and-coming director.

"More akin to European art films than to American indies, Palace prioritizes mood over plot. Tsang allows her experienced actors plenty of breathing space to convey the melancholy of their existence in situations where dreams are more likely to be deferred than to come true, but are necessary nevertheless," wrote critic Alissa Simon for her glowing review in Variety.

Blue Sun Palace received nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Performance by Haipeng Xu, and for Best Cinematography, by Norm Li.

Yang earned a nomination for the festival's Producers Award, which grants an unrestricted gift of $25,000 to an emerging producer who demonstrates the creativity, tenacity and vision needed to produce outstanding independent cinema. He also produced Lucky Lu, another film that highlights the lives of East Asian immigrants hustling to make a living.

Lucky Lu received nominations for Best Director, Lloyd Lee Choi, and Best Lead Performance, by actor Chang Chen. Lucky Lu debuted at Cannes, where it was nominated for the Camera d'Or for Best Feature Film.

Film alum Ben Leonberg '15 directed and edited the horror flick Good Boy, which earned him a nomination for Best Editing at the Independent Spirit Awards. Leonberg's dog, Indy, stars in the film as the pet bent on rescuing his owner from malevolent spirits at his grandfather's cabin. The film is Leonberg's directorial debut.

The Perfect Neighbor is a documentary produced by Sam Bisbee CC '90 that highlights the inequities in the American police system that allowed a Black mother of four to be killed by her unstable, white, female neighbor. The documentary earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Documentary. On Tuesday, December 16, The Academy of Motion Pictures announced that The Perfect Neighbor also made the shortlist for the Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.

Film alum Cherien Dabis '04 earned a nomination for Best International Film at the Independent Spirit Awards after she wrote, produced, directed and starred in All That's Left of You. The film follows a Palestinian family across three generations of geopolitical conflict. It was planned to shoot in Palestine before the most recent war broke out. Filming relocated to Jordan, who submitted All That's Left of You for its entry for the Best International Film at the Academy Awards. After its debut at Sundance Film Festival in 2025, All That's Left of You also made the shortlist for the Oscar nomination in its category.

All That's Left of You is distributed by Watermelon Pictures, a streaming platform founded by Creative Producing alum Munir Atalla '23, who acts as their Head of Production & Acquisitions.

In the television branch of the awards, Dede Gardner CC '90 earned a nomination for Best New Scripted Series for her work producing Adolescence, Netflix's breakout series. The limited series follows the father of an alleged, adolescent murderer as he confronts the consequences of his son's actions, weighing his son's innocence or guilt. Each episode was shot in a single take. 

The critical darling also earned Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series for Stephen Graham's portrayal of the father, Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series for Erin Doherty, who played a social worker in a single, climactic episode, and Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series by Owen Cooper, who plays the son at the center of the drama.

The winners of the Independent Spirit Awards will be announced at a ceremony hosted by Ego Nwodim at the Hollywood Palladium on February 15, 2025. Follow us for more coverage of the event and to celebrate the filmmakers whose stories have already influenced the state of independent cinema in America and across the globe.