'Train Dreams' Sweeps Spirit Awards With Three Wins as 'Adolescence' Dominates Television Categories

Inside the Hollywood Palladium on Sunday evening, the 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards delivered a ceremony that both celebrated independent filmmaking's artistic ambitions and offered a revealing preview of the Oscar race ahead . The night's biggest winner was Train Dreams, Clint Bentley's elegiac adaptation of Denis Johnson's 2011 novella about an itinerant logger in the early twentieth-century Pacific Northwest, which took home three awards including the top prize of Best Feature Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix..

The film, which stars Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier alongside Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy, also won Best Director for Bentley and Best Cinematography for Adolpho Veloso . With four Academy Award nominations already in hand — including Best Picture — Train Dreams now enters the final stretch of awards season with significant momentum. Last year's Spirit Awards best feature winner, Anora, went on to claim the same prize at the Oscars, a pattern that industry observers will be watching closely as the March 15 ceremony approaches Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix..

Bentley struck a contemplative tone in his acceptance speech, acknowledging the difficulty of making films in a politically fraught moment. "I've been thinking a lot, I think as we all have, like, what's the point at times? It can feel as the world is turning upside down, and feels like it's on fire," he told the audience Spirit Awards: ‘Train Dreams’ Director Clint Bentley Credits Films for “Putting Goodness Into the World” While It “Feels Like It’s On Fire”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryFollowing his win for best director at the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Train Dreams director and co-writer Clint Bentley said that film can put some “goodness into the world” while it may feel like “it’s on fire.” “I’ve been thinking a lot, I think as we all have, like, what’s the point at times? It can feel as the world is turning upside down, and feels like it’s on fire.. "And yet, in a world where there's so many people trying to put up walls and put people in cages and divide people, we're making little communities and we're putting goodness into the world." The remarks drew applause, though they also underscored the increasingly political character of awards-season rhetoric — a development that divides audiences and industry professionals alike.

Accepting the Best Feature award, Bentley offered a more grounded reflection. "This film is about all the small lives that keep the world going, the people who don't always get movies made about them, that don't have monuments made for them," he said Spirit Awards: ‘Train Dreams’ Director Clint Bentley Credits Films for “Putting Goodness Into the World” While It “Feels Like It’s On Fire”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryFollowing his win for best director at the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Train Dreams director and co-writer Clint Bentley said that film can put some “goodness into the world” while it may feel like “it’s on fire.” “I’ve been thinking a lot, I think as we all have, like, what’s the point at times? It can feel as the world is turning upside down, and feels like it’s on fire.. He thanked Netflix for distributing the film and expressed pride that the production was able to film entirely in the United States, noting the practical challenges that frequently push American independent productions abroad.

Rose Byrne won Best Lead Performance for her Oscar-nominated turn in Mary Bronstein's If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, in which she plays a mother pushed to her psychological limits Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix.. The Spirit Awards use gender-neutral acting categories, a practice adopted in 2022, meaning Byrne competed against nine other nominees including Edgerton, Dylan O'Brien for Twinless, Keke Palmer for One of Them Days, and Ben Whishaw for Peter Hujar's Day. Byrne's win positions her as a serious contender in the Oscar race, where she faces competition in a traditionally competitive field.

Eva Victor's Sorry, Baby, which was notably passed over in the Oscar nominations, found consolation at the Spirits with two wins: Best Screenplay for Victor and Best Supporting Performance for Naomi Ackie Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix.. The film's Oscars snub had generated considerable discussion in film circles, and its strong Spirit Awards showing will likely renew that conversation about the gap between independent film taste-makers and the broader Academy membership.

The evening's other notable film winners included Lurker, directed by Alex Russell, which picked up Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay . Kayo Martin won the Breakthrough Performance award for The Plague, while Esta Isla (This Island) took the John Cassavetes Award for best film made under $1 million Spirit Awards: ‘Train Dreams’ Director Clint Bentley Credits Films for “Putting Goodness Into the World” While It “Feels Like It’s On Fire”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryFollowing his win for best director at the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Train Dreams director and co-writer Clint Bentley said that film can put some “goodness into the world” while it may feel like “it’s on fire.” “I’ve been thinking a lot, I think as we all have, like, what’s the point at times? It can feel as the world is turning upside down, and feels like it’s on fire.. Brazil's The Secret Agent, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, won Best International Film — a category in which it also holds an Oscar nomination Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix..

Peter Hujar's Day, Ira Sachs' 1970s-set biopic starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall, had entered the ceremony as the most-nominated film with five nods but left empty-handed — a result that may raise questions about its broader awards prospects Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix..

On the television side, Netflix's Adolescence continued what has become a dominant run through the 2025-2026 awards cycle, sweeping all four categories in which it was nominated Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix.. Stephen Graham won Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series, Erin Doherty took Best Supporting Performance, Owen Cooper claimed Best Breakthrough Performance, and the series itself won Best New Scripted Series. The show, created by Jack Thorne and Graham and executive produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, has already collected multiple Emmys and appears poised for further recognition.

The documentary and unscripted categories offered their own highlights. The Perfect Neighbor won Best Documentary, while Pee-wee as Himself — executive produced by the Safdie brothers and featuring the late Paul Reubens — took Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series . The Robert Altman Award, which recognizes a director, casting director, and ensemble cast, went to The Long Walk, directed by Francis Lawrence and featuring an ensemble that includes Mark Hamill, Judy Greer, and David Jonsson Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix..

This year's ceremony marked the Spirit Awards' inaugural show at the Hollywood Palladium, after years on the beach at Santa Monica's Barker Hangar Spirit Awards: Clint Bentley Says ‘Train Dreams’ Is About “All the Small Lives That Keep the World Going”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryAfter Train Dreams won the big prize of best feature at the end of the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, director and co-writer Clint Bentley said the film represents “all the small lives that keep the world going.” “I’m speaking on behalf of these incredible people who worked very, very hard on this film, sometimes, in the case of some of them, for many, many years before I even came on to it,” Bentley said. “And we’re so grateful to Netflix.. The venue change was prompted by Los Angeles' ongoing preparations for the 2028 Summer Olympics, though organizers have signaled the indoor setting may become a more permanent arrangement. The show was hosted by Saturday Night Live alumna Ego Nwodim and streamed live on YouTube Spirit Awards: ‘Train Dreams’ Director Clint Bentley Credits Films for “Putting Goodness Into the World” While It “Feels Like It’s On Fire”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryFollowing his win for best director at the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday, Train Dreams director and co-writer Clint Bentley said that film can put some “goodness into the world” while it may feel like “it’s on fire.” “I’ve been thinking a lot, I think as we all have, like, what’s the point at times? It can feel as the world is turning upside down, and feels like it’s on fire..

The Spirit Awards occupy a distinctive position in the awards calendar. All nominees must have been produced for under $30 million — a threshold that keeps major studio productions out and ensures the ceremony remains focused on the kind of mid-budget and micro-budget filmmaking that often struggles for attention. Whether this year's winners translate their Spirit Awards momentum into Oscar gold remains to be seen, but Train Dreams has made a compelling case that small stories about ordinary lives can still command the biggest stages in cinema.