Film Independent has revealed the nominees for the 2026 Spirit Awards, including for Best Cinematography.
The Spirit Awards are seen as the premier awards event spotlighting independent film and television, with the next edition marking its 41st outing.
The nominees for Best Cinematography are:
- Alex Ashe
Peter Hujar’s Day - Norm Li CSC
Blue Sun Palace - David J. Thompson
Warfare - Adolpho Veloso ABC AIP
Train Dreams - Nicole Hirsch Whitaker ASC
Dust Bunny
Peter Hujar’s Day leads the Spirit Awards overall, lining up in five categories in total – including Best Feature and Best Director for Ira Sachs.
Train Dreams’ Best Cinematography nod is one of four for the Netflix film, with Clint Bentley nominated for Best Director, Joel Edgerton nominated for Best Lead Performance, and the film itself nominated for Best Feature.
Meanwhile, Blue Sun Palace is up for Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Best Supporting Performance for Haipeng Xu, with Dust Bunny also up for Best First Feature.
And Warfare, after scooping Best Ensemble Performance at the British Independent Film Awards, sees Fin Oates nominated for Best Editing.
The full list of nominations is available on the Film Independent website, with the awards ceremony taking place on Sunday 15 February 2026.
