[ARTS OPINION] Tired of lack of diversity at Oscars? Watch Spirit Awards instead

Fair use image from @filmindependent on Instagram

The Farewell, directed by Lulu Wang, is nominated for Best Feature at the Spirit Awards. Awkwafina won the Golden Globe for Actress in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture for her role in the film. The Farewell did not receive any Oscar nominations.

The nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards came out on Monday, and just like every year they came with a lot of backlash. For the second year in a row all of the Best Director nominees are men, and only one of the best actress/actor nominees, Cynthia Erivo for Harriet, is a person of color.

Coincidentally, the Walker Art Center began their screenings of nominees for the Film Independent, Independent Spirit Awards on Tuesday. This is the Walker’s seventh year in a row hosting screenings of the nominees. The screenings began Jan. 14 and will run until Jan. 29. The screenings include nominees for Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best First Feature.

The Independent Spirit Awards celebrate independent filmmakers across the world. While movies like Marriage Story that earned several Oscar nominations still earned nominations from the Spirit Awards, their list of nominees honors a considerably more diverse group than the Oscars including female directors like Olivia Wilde for her film Booksmart and directors of color like Julius Onah for his film Luce.

The Independent Spirit Awards happen Feb. 8, the day before the Oscars. For everyone that’s tired of the lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations, maybe it’s time to focus some energy on supporting an organization that has already made diversity a priority instead of trying year after year to convince the Academy to change.