Actress and comedian Aidy Bryant will host the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards. This 2024 Spirit Awards will mark the 39th edition of the annual awards show honoring the best of independent cinema and television, while also celebrating the 30th anniversary of Film Independent’s influential Artist Development program.
The awards nominees will be announced on December 5th at 7 a.m. PST. Winners will be revealed at the awards show on February 25th in Santa Monica and will be streamed live on the IMDb and Film Independent’s YouTube channels, and across other social platforms, beginning at 2 p.m. PST.
“We’re thrilled to have the incandescently talented Aidy Bryant joining us to host the 39th annual Spirit Awards” said Josh Welsh, president of Film Independent. “Through her humor, skill and seemingly endless supply of energy she has been entertaining audiences for years, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for us as we celebrate independent artists on February 25th.”
An acclaimed comedian and actress, Bryant got her start as a writer and performer with The Second City in Chicago before joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2012, where she starred for 10 seasons. During her time on SNL, Bryant was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. While still performing on the show, Bryant split her time to star in, co-create and showrun the Hulu series Shrill for three seasons. She was nominated for her third Primetime Emmy Award for her performance in Shrill, this one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Bryant recently signed an overall deal with Universal Television, where she is currently in development on multiple projects including her new television vehicle, Lonely Hearts Club, which Ari Aster is producing for Peacock. Bryant also currently lends her voice as the lead character, “Emmy the Lovebug,” in Netflix’s animated series, Human Resources.
Past Spirit Awards hosts have included Hasan Minhaj, Megan Mullaly and Nick Offerman, Melissa Villaseñor, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani, Fred Armisen and Kristen Bell, Patton Oswalt, Andy Samberg, Rainn Wilson, Joel McHale, Sarah Silverman, Samuel L. Jackson, Queen Latifah and John Waters.
The Spirit Awards is the nonprofit arts organization’s primary fundraiser for its year-round slate of programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity and inclusion across the film industry. The upcoming show will mark Film Independent’s second collaboration with Emmy Award-winning producer Eddie Delbridge of Live Digital Entertainment. Shawn Davis is returning for his 22nd year with the Spirit Awards, as executive producer. Also returning are producers Danielle Federico and Andrew Schaff.
Yacht Club expands its postproduction team
Yacht Club, known for bringing a fresh perspective to holistic production, is expanding its post offerings to intensify how and what it delivers on behalf of clients. Having honed an exceptional post process for its own productions, Yacht Club is set to bring that expertise and creative perspective to agencies and brands as a stand-alone creative service or integrated with production. “Increasingly, clients are looking for partners who can operate from both a creative and efficiency mindset,” noted Zach Law, head of post/founding partner of Yacht Club. “We make sure that everything is considered from technical to exploring the creative to make sure the best options end up on screen.” “With post, we always just focused on supporting our own productions,” he continued, “and while we are still doing that and growing, with our expansion of our post department we are able to bring that experience to other folks as well.” Law’s colleague on the producing side is Zac Gobetz who brings 15 years of experience across Company 3, Movement Strategy, and Postworks, to his role at Yacht Club. Integral to Yacht Club’s post offerings is Aria Yagobi, who has served as an editor for the past four years, cutting spots for a wide range of clients including Baskin Robbins, Bud Light, and Gillette. Newly joining Uagpbo on the editorial team is Jacqueline Xerri, whose work spans commercials, music videos, and narrative/documentary film. Her commercial clients include Etsy, Dunkin’, Vagisil, Architectural Digest, The North Face, and Pure, whose latest campaign directed by Jake Ladehoff received a 2025 Telly Award. Award-winning 3D motion designer Amin Ashtar Ali is also an important recent addition to Yacht Club Films. As a VFX artist, he brings diverse... Read More