Clint Bentley and the 'Train Dreams' team accept Best Feature at the 2026 Spirit Awards (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
The Independent Spirit Awards traded the usual Santa Monica beach tent for the Hollywood Palladium on Sunday, thanks to 2028 Olympics construction. Ego Nwodim hosted, and Clint Bentley's 'Train Dreams,' which quietly emerged from Sundance 13 months ago, ran away with three prizes: Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. The little Sundance darling that could. Some other highlights:
- Rose Byrne won Best Lead Performance for 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.' She's building a nice little trophy collection heading into Oscar night.
- Eva Victor took Best Screenplay for 'Sorry, Baby,' and co-star Naomi Ackie won Best Supporting Performance.
- Alex Russell's stalker thriller 'Lurker' doubled up with Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.
- Netflix's 'Adolescence' swept every scripted TV category it touched: Best New Scripted Series plus all three acting prizes (Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty, Owen Cooper). The show has basically set up permanent residence on awards stages at this point.
- 'The Secret Agent' won Best International Film and 'The Perfect Neighbor' took Best Documentary. Both are also Oscar-nominated.
- See the full list of winners here.
What it means for the Oscars: The Spirits cap eligibility at $28M budgets, so the heavyweights like 'One Battle After Another,' 'Sinners,' and 'Marty Supreme' weren't in the building. But the results do reinforce that 'Train Dreams' and 'The Secret Agent' are legitimate threats in their respective Oscar categories. Rose Byrne's win strengthens her Best Actress case too. The Oscars are less than a month out, March 15.
Do you think Train Dreams' recent success at the Spirit Awards could impact its Oscar chances? Let us know in the comments.
