The full list of nominations for the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards was released on Tuesday, January 26th, and this year they were filled with a strong number of LGBTQ-inclusive titles from the past year.
Alice Wu received a nomination for “Best Screenplay” for The Half of It, a coming-of-age film about a teenager who acts as a ghostwriter between a jock classmate and the popular girl she is secretly in love with.
James Sweeney received a nomination for Best First Screenplay for his not-so-romantic comedy Straight Up.
August Wilson’s historical drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, featuring Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman, was nominated for Best Feature.
Heidi Ewing got a “Best First Feature” nomination for I Carry You With Me, while Kristen Johnson got a Best Documentary nomination for Dick Johnson Is Dead.
Elegance Bratton was nominated for the Truer Than Fiction Award for directing Pier Kids. 
This is the first year that the Indie Spirit Awards are recognizing television, and HBO’s We’re Here got a Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series nod.
Michaela Coel’s powerful new limited series I May Destroy You received two nominations for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series and for Best Scripted Series. Apple TV+’s Little America received a Best Scripted Series nomination as well as a nod for one of its out cast members, Adam Ali, who was nominated for playing a gay character in an episode called “The Son,” opposite Haaz Sleiman.
And lastly, the hilarious Abby McEnany received a nomination for Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series for Showtime’s Work in Progress.
Congrats to all of this year’s LGBTQ-inclusive nominees!
The 36th Independent Spirit Awards will take place Thursday, April 22. The ceremony will be broadcast live on IFC at 10 p.m. ET. In addition to the linear broadcast, the Spirit Awards will also stream simultaneously on AMC+. Following the broadcast, the full awards ceremony will be made available on-demand across AMC+ and IFC platforms starting Friday, April 23.