Spirit Awards on a Thursday? For 2021, That’s the Plan!

The Independent Spirit Awards are one of the most discussed awards ceremonies of the year, and they’re making an unprecedented shift to their schedule for the 2021 ceremony. The often boozy, somewhat unwieldy black sheep of the awards family has traditionally taken place the day before the Oscars ceremony. It’s a smart decision, as increasingly in recent years there are plenty of Spirit Award nominees who are already in town because they’re attending the Oscars the next day. 

Well, this year things will be a little different, as the Spirits have decided to move their ceremony up to April 22nd, 2021, the Thursday before the Oscars. They’ve also shifted the time of the ceremony, pushing it back from its usual sunny daytime scheduling to the new time of 7pm PT, 10pm ET. The ceremony will still be broadcast on IFC, like usual, as well as on streaming partner AMC+ 

Josh Welsh, the Film Independent President, released a statement alongside the announcement, saying, “The Spirit Awards are a time for us to come together – filmmakers and film lovers alike – and celebrate the movies, shows and performances that have sustained us through these incredibly challenging times. While 2020 left a lot to be desired, it was an amazing year for film and TV. Visual storytellers with powerful and unique voices brought us so much joy and light during these difficult months. We’re thrilled to share our nominations with the world, and I encourage everyone to join Film Independent and vote on the winners.”

We’ve also learned that those nominations will be announced by Laverne Cox, Barry Jenkins, and Olivia Wilde, next Thursday, January 26th, at 7am PT/10am ET. We’ll have the nominations posted here that day after they’re announced, and we imagine those nominees will be watching the show from the comfort of their own homes via Zoom, as the likelihood of this year’s ceremony taking place in person seems slim to none.