Kristen Stewart to serve as honorary chair of the Independent Spirit Awards

Film Independent has named Academy Award nominee Kristen Stewart as the honorary chair of the 2022 Spirit Awards. One of the most accomplished, talented and in-demand young actresses of her generation, Stewart has garnered over 22 critic awards for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain’s Spencer.

“Independent film has been a formative and vital aspect of my life since I was a child. As an insider and an outsider it’s clear to me how the support it offers artists is essential. I couldn’t be more proud to serve as honorary chair this year and to help in celebrating all the nominees!” said Stewart.

“We are thrilled to have Kristen Stewart serve as our Honorary Chair this year. A true risk-taker, in all of her choices she embodies the fearlessness and bold originality that is at the heart of the Spirit Awards,” said Film Independent president Josh Welsh.

Stewart was introduced to worldwide audiences in 2002 with her gripping performance in Panic Room.  Her star took a huge rise when she starred as Bella Swan in the hit franchise The Twilight Saga. In 2015, she became the first American actress to be awarded a Cesar Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in Olivier Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria. In January 2017, Stewart made her directorial debut with Come Swim which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Next up, Stewart can be seen in David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future alongside Viggo Mortensen. Stewart recently completed production for a sci-fi love story film opposite Steven Yeun. She is also co-writing and directing The Chronology of Water based on the memoir of the same name by Lidia Yuknavitch.

Past Honorary Chairs include Shaka King, Lena Waithe, Ava DuVernay, Jessica Chastain, Ang Lee, David Oyelowo, Jodie Foster, Javier Bardem, Kerry Washington, Tom Cruise, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore, among others.

The Spirit Awards are the nonprofit art organization’s primary fundraiser for its year-round slate of programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity and inclusion across the film industry. Winners will be revealed in-person on March 6th in Santa Monica and will air exclusively on IFC and stream on AMC+ at 5:00PM ET.

The show will be executive produced and directed by Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Production for the eighth consecutive year. Shawn Davis returns as executive producer for Film Independent for his 20th year, Rick Austin returns as​ Co-Executive Producer for his seventh year. Also returning are Danielle Federico and Andrew Schaff as Producers.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards are supported by Premier Sponsor IFC; the Official Spirit, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey; the Official Non-Alcoholic Spirit, Seedlip; Official Water, FIJI Water and Official Beer, Stella Artois. Getty Images is the Official Photographer.

Click here to see the full list of this year’s nominees.