Spirit Awards to Implement Gender Neutral Acting Categories
Wilson Chapman editor The 2023 Independent Spirit Awards will implement gender neutral acting categories, Film Independent announced on Tuesday. The award ceremony, which honors the best in independent filmmaking and television production, will now present three film acting awards and two TV acting awards that are all gender neutral. The gendered film categories — male lead, female lead, male supporting and female supporting — have been eliminated, in favor of a lead performance and supporting performance category. Both will feature 10 nominees each, as opposed to the gendered categories which included five nominees. In addition, a new best breakthrough performance category has been added, which will feature five nominees of any gender.