Feb 16, 2026 5:48pm IST
‘Train Dreams’ and ‘Adolescence’ Take Over the Spirit Awards: Check Out the Full Winners List
The 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards turned out to be a quiet, but pretty decisive, celebration for two films that most people hadn’t pegged as Oscar frontrunners: Clint Bentley’s frontier drama “Train Dreams” and Netflix’s British crime series “Adolescence.” The whole thing went down at the Hollywood Palladium and streamed live on YouTube. It worked as a good reminder that indie movies still have their own heartbeat, even when the big awards shows keep circling the same deep-pocketed favorites.
In the film categories, “Train Dreams” grabbed the spotlight. It walked away with Best Feature, Best Director for Clint Bentley and Best Cinematography for Adolpho Veloso. Bentley adapted Denis Johnson’s novella and zeroed in on a solitary laborer in the early 1900s American West. People clearly connected with the film’s quiet, visual style, choosing it over louder, flashier options. Joel Edgerton got a nomination for his understated lead performance, but he didn’t win; that honor went to Rose Byrne for her role in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” a smaller film that’s been quietly winning over critics.
Related Stories
On the TV side, “Adolescence” basically swept the new scripted series categories. It won Best New Scripted Series, plus acting awards for Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty, and Best Breakthrough Performance for Owen Cooper. No other show has picked up that many Spirit Awards since they started recognizing TV in 2021, which says a lot about how tightly the cast and writing landed with people. Other TV standouts included “Pee-Wee as Himself,” which took Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series, and “Chief of War,” which won Best Ensemble Cast.
Outside of the main awards, the Spirits kept their tradition of highlighting new talent. Tatti Ribeiro picked up the Someone to Watch Award, while Rajee Samarasinghe took home the Truer Than Fiction Award. The Producers Award went to Emma Hannaway, Luca Intili, and Tony Yang, and Esta Isla won the John Cassavetes Award for low-budget filmmaking.
Altogether, the 2026 Spirit lineup shows that independent film is still all about character-driven stories, but there is more room now for fresh directors, documentaries and voices from around the world.
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.