The 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films and television series of 2024, were presented by Film Independent on February 22, 2025. The ceremony was held at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California, and was hosted by American actress and comedian Aidy Bryant for the second consecutive year; Bryant's hosting duties the previous year was widely praised and made headlines. For the third consecutive year, the ceremony was streamed live on the YouTube channels of both IMDb and Film Independent, and across Film Independent's social media platforms.
The nominations were announced live via YouTube on December 4, 2024. Anora and I Saw the TV Glow led the film nominations with five each, followed by Dìdi with four. Shà Âgun received the most television nominations with five, followed by Baby Reindeer and English Teacher with four each.
During the ceremony, longtime Film Independent president Josh Welsh was remembered by acting president Brenda Robinson, who delivered a speech about the "visionary" who died on December 31, 2024, after a five-year battle with colon cancer at age 62. Later in the show, during his acceptance speech for Best Feature, Anora filmmaker Sean Baker also paid tribute to Welsh and his contributions to independent cinema, calling him "a true champion of independent voices and a wonderful, kind human being".
The grant recipients of the Emerging Filmmakers Awards were announced on January 4, 2025.
(The award is given to the film's director, casting director, and ensemble cast)
The award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films.
The award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
The award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
The Best International Film winner Flow became the first animated feature to win a Film Independent Spirit Award for any category.