SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) – After several years of increasing overlap with the Academy Awards, the Independent Film Spirit Awards should supply a counterpoint to the Oscars at its annual ceremony on Saturday.
The 31st annual Spirit Awards will kick off at 5 p.m. EST Saturday from its customary seaside tent in Santa Monica, California. The Spirits are always an informal, indie antidote to Sunday’s Oscars, but this year the contrast between the back-to-back awards is starker than usual.
Only one best-picture Oscar nominee is up for the Spirits’ top honor: the newspaper drama “Spotlight.” And only one acting favorite, Brie Larson from “The Room,” is likely to win Saturday.
The Spirits’ 20 acting nominees are also more diverse, with five non-white nominees out of 20, including Idris Elba for “Beasts of No Nation.”