Slamdance to Launch Awards Show Franchise ‘The Indies’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Slamdance, the indie film festival established almost 30 years ago in response to the cultural monolith of Sundance, is unveiling its first ever awards show franchise.

“The Indies” will be an annual ceremony celebrating “the spirit of truly independent filmmaking,” according to organizers. The inaugural event is set for Dec. 9 at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles. Comedian-actors Nic Novicki (“Boardwalk Empire,” “The Sopranos”) and Steve Way (“Ramy”) will host. 

The Indies will focus on narrative and documentary features from filmmakers in North America. Eligible movies must have played at one or more domestic film festivals held over the calendar year. There’s an added guardrail to keep The Indies as cutting edge as possible: movies that set world premieres at Sundance, SXSW or Tribeca are not eligible for a trophy. 

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“The U.S. indie film sector is struggling, with only a handful of streamers and studios actively acquiring indie films — and it’s not enough. American independent cinema and its filmmakers won’t survive unless support at home and in Hollywood returns to the levels seen in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, when bold American indie voices influenced global cinema with the right industry support,” said Slamdance co-founder Paul Rachman. “That’s the spark The Indies and Slamdance aim to reignite by coming to Los Angeles. We understand this landscape — and we’re here to push for change.”

The current awards industrial complex has several shows meant to boost films with low budgets and a lack commercial stars, like the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the annual Gotham Awards. Many in the indie film establishment would complain that eligibility for those honors has been stretched to extremes. In 2022, the Indie Spirit Awards increased the budget cap on films eligible for its honors to $30 million (after tax incentives), citing undeniable cost increases for production. 

Once deemed eligible for a Slamdance Indie award, films will undergo a review process by a documentary or narrative feature nomination committee. These will be comprised of film critics and scholars who will select works across a range of categories “with a special emphasis on the collaborative nature of cinema.” 

Categories under consideration this year include: Best Narrative Feature Film, Outstanding Storytelling Craft, Outstanding Technical Achievement, Outstanding Ensemble and Casting, Best Documentary Feature, Outstanding Storytelling Craft, Outstanding Use of Archival Footage and Outstanding Cinematography. 

Variety can also exclusively reveal the first ever Indie Awards nominees: 

Best Narrative Feature 

“Atikamekw Suns” (Chloé Leriche, Director and Producer)

“Free Time” (Director Ryan Martin Brown, Director and Producers Mackenzie Jamieson, Justin Zuckerman, Paula González-Nasser, Nolan Kelly)

“The People’s Joker” (Director Vera Drew and Producer Joey Lyons)

Outstanding Storytelling Craft Nominees (Screenwriter and Editor)

Chloé Leriche (Writer, Editor) and Natalie Lamoureux (Editor), “Atikamekw Suns”

Ryan Martin Brown (Writer, Editor) and Byron Leon (Editor), “Free Time”

Vera Drew (Writer, Editor) and Bri LeRose (Writer), “The People’s Joker”

Outstanding Technical Achievement Nominees (nominees can include: Production Design, Score, Sound Design, Special/Visual Effects, Cinematography)

Glauco Bermudez (DP), “Atikamekw Suns”

Cooper Vacheron (Visual Effects Artist), “Free Time”

Courtney McIntosh (Production Designer), “The People’s Joker”

Outstanding Ensemble and Casting (entire cast and casting director)

Mirotansa Chilton, Jacques Newashish, Wikwasa Newashish, Carl-David Ottawa (Cast) and Chloé Leriche (Casting Director), “Atikamekw Suns”

Colin Burgess, Rajat Suresh, Holmes, Jessie Pinnick, James Webb, Eric Yates, Alex Bliss, Michael Patrick Nicholson, Rebecca Rose Bulnes, and Steve Young (Cast), “Free Time”

Keris Hope Hill, Melanie Bray, Constant Bernard, Alex Trahan, Josee Young (Cast) and Melanie Bray, John Buchan and Jason Knight (Casting), “Rosie”

Best Documentary Feature (Director and Producer)

“All We Carry” (Director Cady Voge, and Producers Laura Pilloni, Laura Tatham, Rachel Clara Reed)

“Israelism” (Directors Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsan, and Producers Daniel J. Chalfin, Nadia Saah, Erin Axelman)

“Sweetheart Deal” (Directors Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller, and Producers Peggy Case, Elisa Levine, Alan Pruzan)

Outstanding Storytelling Craft (Editor, Director and Writer if credited)

Cady Voge (Director and Writer) and Rachel Clara Reed (Editor and Writer), “All We Carry”

Kristina Motwani (Editor), Kevin Duncan (Director), Todd Sills (Co-Director), and Yar Tin Tham (Co-Director), “Home Is A Hotel”

Karen Sim (Writer), Elisa Levine (Director), Gabriel Miller (Director), and Brittany Kaplan (Editor), “Sweetheart Deal”

Outstanding Use of Archival Footage (Archivists, Archival Producers and/or Editor)

James Cude (Editor), “The Little Pageant That Could”

Sara Newens (Editor) and Rebecca Kent (Archival Producer). “Racist Trees”

David Baker (Editor) and National Geographic Society Archivists Lela Sewell-Williams, Sara Mancho, Renee Braden, Karen Cerka, Kelly Miner, “The Wonder And The Worry”

Outstanding Cinematography (DP, Camera Operator, AC)

Luke Connor (Cinematography), Ben Giesbrecht (Cinematography), Joshua Manyhands (Assistant Camera), Calvin Stimson (Assistant Camera), and Anthony Stengal (Additional Cinematography) / “Aitamaako’Tamisskap Natosi: Before The Sun”

Jonathan Lacocque (Director of Photography) / “O Pioneer”

George Hupka (Director of Photography), Andrew Manske (Wildlife Cinematography) and Johnny Blerot (Additional Wildlife Cinematography), “Singing Back The Buffalo”

Special Honorary Awards

The Native Viewpoint Award – Outstanding Indigenous Community Story Collaboration 

“Atikamekw Suns”

The Native Viewpoint Award – Indigenous Film Critic’s Best Overall Selection 

“WaaPaKe” (Jules Koostachin, Director)

Narrative Features Committee Renegade Award

Vera Drew, “The People’s Joker”

Narrative Features Committee Authenticity Award 

Kelli McNeil (Screenwriter and Producer) / Daruma – honoring excellence in authentic representation of disability on screen

Documentary Features Committee Spotlight Award

Emily Sheshkin (Director) and the Silva Family in honor of Jesslyn Silva, “JessZilla”