Oscar-winning director Sean Baker reveals the inspiration behind Anora
4 days, 9 hours ago

Oscar-winning director Sean Baker reveals the inspiration behind Anora

India Today  

Acclaimed filmmaker Sean Baker, known for his raw and immersive storytelling, has opened up about the origins of his latest film, Anora. The project, which has been in development for over a year, stems from Baker’s long-standing collaboration with actor Karren Karagulian, a key figure in many of his works since Four Letter Words. Eventually, I came up with this story and it developed approximately over a year.” At the heart of Anora is a gripping home invasion, orchestrated by Karagulian’s character, Toros, under orders from a powerful Russian oligarch. The film emerged as a major winner at the 97th Academy Awards, taking home five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Best Director.

Sean Baker  karagulian  best  role  toros  oscarwinning  anora  knew  inspiration  taking  reveals  invasion  wanted  film  director  karren  sean  baker

History of this topic

Anora review: Mikey Madison delivers a star-making performance in Sean Baker's wild fairy tale gone haywire
1 week, 6 days ago

Anora review: Mikey Madison delivers a star-making performance in Sean Baker's wild fairy tale gone haywire

Hindustan Times  

Anora review: There's a curious case of censorship hidden somewhere in the delayed release of Anora, Sean Baker's delightful and heartbreaking screwball tragicomedy of sorts. The fairytale ends soon Baker films this entire passage with extraordinary vivacity, observing Ani's wide-eyed wonder from a distance. Mikey Madison is breathtaking Anora is ultimately a tale of class and privilege, a story of …

Notes from the sidelines: Deepanjana Pal writes on Anora and Sthal
2 weeks, 2 days ago

Notes from the sidelines: Deepanjana Pal writes on Anora and Sthal

Hindustan Times  

The year is 2025 and Anora, an independent film about a sex worker, made on a budget of $6 million, has won the Academy award for best picture. It’s interesting to watch Anora during Donald Trump’s second term as US President, at a time when he seems intent on adding a rom-com epilogue to America’s Cold War tale. Anora was …

Did Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ deserve to win Best Picture at the Oscars?
3 weeks, 5 days ago

Did Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ deserve to win Best Picture at the Oscars?

The Hindu  

By the time the last Oscar statue was handed out yesterday, Sean Baker’s Anora had achieved something extraordinary: an indie darling standing atop Hollywood’s biggest stage, winning five awards including Best Picture. Instead, Anora embodies a peculiar new Oscar trend: the scruffy underdog film that’s been carefully engineered by an aggressive campaign to win big. Unlike the richly drawn figures …

‘Anora’ Oscar win carries Academy Awards into a new era
Trending News
3 weeks, 6 days ago

‘Anora’ Oscar win carries Academy Awards into a new era

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Last fall, Sean Baker was sitting in a Manhattan restaurant, talking about a poll. Why don’t you want to see sex in our stories?” “I remember being on set and being like: We’re pushing against that poll.” When Baker’s “Anora” swept the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, its five wins, including best picture, heralded a different kind …

Where to watch the Oscar winner Anora at home
Trending News
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Where to watch the Oscar winner Anora at home

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Sean Baker’s independent film Anora was the big winner at the 2025 Academy …

Anora OTT release date: When and where to watch Oscar 2025 Best Picture winner online
4 weeks ago

Anora OTT release date: When and where to watch Oscar 2025 Best Picture winner online

Live Mint  

Anora OTT release date: Sean Baker's Anora, a comedy-drama about a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, bagged the Oscar for Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards. This notable feat at the 97th Academy Awards has brought the movie to the attention of the masses, who now await its OTT release to witness Baker's award-winning …

Oscars 2025: Sean Baker Film Made With A Budget Of $6M Won Five Oscars Including Best Picture And Director
4 weeks ago

Oscars 2025: Sean Baker Film Made With A Budget Of $6M Won Five Oscars Including Best Picture And Director

ABP News  

Oscars 2025: Sean Baker’s 'Anora' emerged as the big winner at the 97th Academy Awards, securing five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. Anora's shoe-string budget Sean Baker’s Anora, a film crafted on a modest $6 million budget, grossed nearly seven times its production cost during its theatrical run. Other notable wins included 'I’m Still Here,' which …

Anora director Sean Baker makes Oscars history with 4 wins for the same movie
4 weeks ago

Anora director Sean Baker makes Oscars history with 4 wins for the same movie

Hindustan Times  

Anora emerged as the big winner at the 97th Academy Awards, winning 5 Oscars- including the biggest one of the evening: Best Picture. Director Sean Baker sweeped in each category he was nominated for- including Best Director, Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay. Director Sean Baker holds the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Original …

Oscars 2025: Anora director Sean Baker makes history with four-trophy haul
4 weeks ago

Oscars 2025: Anora director Sean Baker makes history with four-trophy haul

The Independent  

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery PREMIOS OSCAR-DIRECCIÓN Some eagle-eyed Oscars fans may point out that director …

Best Picture Anora to Best Actor Adrien Brody's The Brutalist: Where to watch this year's Oscar winners
4 weeks ago

Best Picture Anora to Best Actor Adrien Brody's The Brutalist: Where to watch this year's Oscar winners

Hindustan Times  

The Oscars 2025 marked big wins and many firsts. Anora Mikey Madison holds the Oscar for the Best Actress for "Anora" and producer Alex Coco pose with the Oscar for Best Picture for "Anora". The Brutalist US actor Adrien Brody attends the 97th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 2, 2025. Adrien Brody clinched …

Sean Baker wins best director Oscar for ‘Anora’ in Academy Awards sweep
Top News
4 weeks ago

Sean Baker wins best director Oscar for ‘Anora’ in Academy Awards sweep

Hindustan Times  

LOS ANGELES — “Anora” creator Sean Baker won best director, best picture and two other Academy Awards at the Oscars on Sunday, bookending a dominant awards season for the American filmmaker whose stories seek to humanize sex workers and immigrants. Sean Baker wins best director Oscar for ‘Anora’ in Academy Awards sweep Baker, 53, wrote, produced, directed and edited the …

Oscars 2025: Anora wins big at 97th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director; check complete list
4 weeks ago

Oscars 2025: Anora wins big at 97th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director; check complete list

Live Mint  

Oscars 2025: The 97th Academy Awards just concluded marking a big win for team Anora. The film has fetched an impressive amount of awards, precisely five Oscar awards out of their six nominations across major categories at the 97th Academy Awards. Anora at Oscars 2025 Anora, released in 2024, is a romantic comedy-drama, built on a budget of $6 million …

Oscars 2025: Anora was the right Best Picture winner
4 weeks ago

Oscars 2025: Anora was the right Best Picture winner

The Independent  

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. For Sean Baker’s Anora, crowned during a ceremony that saw it also take home four …

Sean Baker wins best director Oscar for ‘Anora’ in Academy Awards sweep
4 weeks ago

Sean Baker wins best director Oscar for ‘Anora’ in Academy Awards sweep

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — “Anora” creator Sean Baker won best director, best picture and two other Academy Awards at the Oscars on Sunday, bookending a dominant awards season for the American filmmaker whose stories seek to humanize sex workers and immigrants. For the Oscar, Baker beat out Brady Corbet of “The Brutalist,” James Mangold of “A Complete Unknown,” Jacques Audiard of …

Sean Baker wins original screenplay Oscar for 'Anora.' 'Conclave' wins adapted screenplay trophy
4 weeks ago

Sean Baker wins original screenplay Oscar for 'Anora.' 'Conclave' wins adapted screenplay trophy

Hindustan Times  

LOS ANGELES — Sean Baker won the original screenpla y Oscar for “Anora,” a comedy-drama about a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, on Sunday at the 97th Academy Awards. 'Conclave' wins adapted screenplay trophy “This is crazy,” a smiling Baker said onstage. I share this with you.” Baker also won the Oscar for editing on …

Oscars 2025 key moments: Mikey Madison upsets with Best Actress win and a singing speech for Best Original Song
Trending News
4 weeks ago

Oscars 2025 key moments: Mikey Madison upsets with Best Actress win and a singing speech for Best Original Song

ABC  

The final major event of award season, the 2025 Oscars, had it all. "I grew up in Los Angeles, but Hollywood always felt so far away from me," Madison said on stage. Baker, who directed, wrote and edited the film took home the Oscars for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Picture. After winning Best Picture, Baker …

Best picture winner 'Anora' is an indie film — what does that mean?
4 weeks ago

Best picture winner 'Anora' is an indie film — what does that mean?

NPR  

Best picture winner 'Anora' is an indie film — what does that mean? That's how Anora director Sean Baker ended his speech on Sunday night after accepting the award for best picture. The production and distribution company — formed in 2017 — was behind Bong Joon-ho's 2019 film Parasite, which took home the best picture prize in 2020. In addition …

Why 'Anora' wins at 2025 Oscars were wins for Hollywood workers
4 weeks ago

Why 'Anora' wins at 2025 Oscars were wins for Hollywood workers

LA Times  

When filmmaker Sean Baker won his first Oscar for original screenplay early Sunday night for “Anora,” a screwball dramedy about a stripper who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, he gave an acceptance speech so heartfelt and complete, heaping praise on everyone from his cast and crew to his distributors and management team, that I wondered if he’d thanked …

Why ‘Anora’ director Sean Baker’s ‘battle cry’ for theaters may fall on deaf ears
4 weeks ago

Why ‘Anora’ director Sean Baker’s ‘battle cry’ for theaters may fall on deaf ears

LA Times  

Sean Baker and the cast and crew of “Anora” at the 97th Academy Awards. In fact, soon after the telecast ended, the Washington lobbying group and trade organization’s president and chief executive, Michael O’Leary, sent out a statement heralding Baker as “an unwavering champion for the theatrical experience.” Fittingly, Baker was presented the directing award by fellow theater supporter Quentin …

'Anora' wins best picture at the 2025 Oscars
4 weeks, 1 day ago

'Anora' wins best picture at the 2025 Oscars

NPR  

'Anora' wins best picture at the 2025 Oscars toggle caption Kevin Winter/Getty Images Anora, Sean Baker's screwball dramedy about a whirlwind marriage between an enterprising sex worker and an impish spoiled son of a Russian oligarch, took home the award for best picture at Sunday night's Oscars, capping off a winning evening in which the director was also honored for …

Oscars 2025 winners list: ‘Anora’ wins five Academy Awards, including four for filmmaker Sean Baker
4 weeks, 1 day ago

Oscars 2025 winners list: ‘Anora’ wins five Academy Awards, including four for filmmaker Sean Baker

LA Times  

Zoe Saldana accepts the Oscar for supporting actress for “Emilia Pérez” at the 97th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2025. Actor in a leading role Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”| WINNER Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown” Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing” Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave” Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice” Original score Daniel Blumberg, “The Brutalist”| WINNER Volker Bertelmann, “Conclave” …

‘Anora’, leading the Best Picture race, is finally streaming in India
4 weeks, 1 day ago

‘Anora’, leading the Best Picture race, is finally streaming in India

Live Mint  

Sean Baker’s Anora explodes onto the screen like a firecracker in a midnight alleyway—it’s a restless, breathless ride, a film straddling so many genres and refusing to be tamed. In moments of high tension, the accent sharpens into a harsh, unyielding rasp that not only signals the pressure of the moment but also betrays the intricate double life Anora leads: …

Who's set for Oscars glory this weekend? Demi Moore and Adrien Brody prepare to battle it out for Best Acting roles as movies Anora and The Brutalist go head-to-head
1 month ago

Who's set for Oscars glory this weekend? Demi Moore and Adrien Brody prepare to battle it out for Best Acting roles as movies Anora and The Brutalist go head-to-head

Daily Mail  

The biggest night in film is just days away, with Hollywood's finest set to descend upon Dolby Theatre on Sunday night for the 97th edition of the Academy Awards. Yet Lynn explained Conclave's win at the BAFTAs could mix things up as she said: 'Nothing is guaranteed though, Anora's grip on the Best Film award is also beginning to look …

Independent Spirit Awards 2025: Oscar favourite ‘Anora’ wins best film, director and actor
1 month, 1 week ago

Independent Spirit Awards 2025: Oscar favourite ‘Anora’ wins best film, director and actor

The Hindu  

Sean Baker’s Anora won Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor for Mikey Madison at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in what could be a preview of next Sunday’s Oscars: The film about a Brooklyn sex worker and her whirlwind affair with a Russian oligarch’s son has emerged in recent weeks as an awards season front-runner. Host Aidy Bryant …

Oscar Favorite ‘Anora’ Wins Best Film, Director And Actor At The Independent Spirit Awards
Trending News
1 month, 1 week ago

Oscar Favorite ‘Anora’ Wins Best Film, Director And Actor At The Independent Spirit Awards

Huff Post  

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 22: Alex Coco, Karren Karagulian, Sean Baker, Mikey Madison, Vache Tovmasyan, Samantha Quan, Mark Eydelshteyn, and Yura Borisov accept the Best Feature Award for "Anora" onstage during the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 22, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. Kevin Winter via Getty Images Sean Baker’s “Anora” won best film, best director and …

Oscar favorite ‘Anora’ wins best film, director and actor at the Independent Spirit Awards
1 month, 1 week ago

Oscar favorite ‘Anora’ wins best film, director and actor at the Independent Spirit Awards

Associated Press  

Sean Baker’s “Anora” won best film, best director and best actor for Mikey Madison at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in what could be a preview of next Sunday’s Oscars: The film about a Brooklyn sex worker and her whirlwind affair with a Russian oligarch’s son has emerged in recent weeks as an awards season front-runner. “We shouldn’t be …

‘Anora’ wins at an emotionally charged Spirit Awards
1 month, 1 week ago

‘Anora’ wins at an emotionally charged Spirit Awards

LA Times  

“Anora” producer Alex Coco speaks on behalf of the team after the movie took the biggest prize at the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Continuing to build momentum as award season nears its conclusion, “Anora” won three prizes at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon, including best feature. This is for all the indie-film lifers who are holding …

‘Anora’ movie review: Sean Baker’s kitsch working-class fantasy is stripped off any nuance
1 month, 1 week ago

‘Anora’ movie review: Sean Baker’s kitsch working-class fantasy is stripped off any nuance

The Hindu  

Sean Baker has built his career peeling back the tattered sequins of the American Dream, revealing it as either a grand cosmic gag or a long con perpetuated by those with just the right mix of shamelessness and dumb luck. The film is a raucous, whiplash-inducing satire of the American Dream as seen through the eyes of the titular New …

Awards Watch: Why this is 'one of the closest and most thrilling Oscar races ever'
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Awards Watch: Why this is 'one of the closest and most thrilling Oscar races ever'

BBC  

Awards Watch: Why this is 'one of the closest and most thrilling Oscar races ever' 4 days ago Nicholas Barber Getty Images With less than two weeks to go until this year's Oscars, we've reached the stage where most of the results should be boringly easy to predict. Sean Baker's dynamic anti-romantic comedy won best picture at the DGA, PGA, …

‘Anora’ strengthens Best Picture odds with Writers Guild Award win
1 month, 2 weeks ago

‘Anora’ strengthens Best Picture odds with Writers Guild Award win

The Hindu  

The 2025 Writers Guild Awards delivered another major boost to Anora‘s Oscar campaign, as the film clinched the award for Original Screenplay on Saturday night. This victory adds to Anora’s already impressive awards season run, having previously won the top honors at the Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America Awards. Notably, the only film to sweep the …

‘Anora’ season once again in full swing
1 month, 2 weeks ago

‘Anora’ season once again in full swing

LA Times  

Would you pay a trillion dollars for California? ‘Anora’ is the Oscar front-runner, much to Sean Baker’s surprise Upstairs at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, Sean Baker is talking shop with Ivan Rothberg as the veteran projectionist threads the fifth reel of “Anora,” Baker’s Oscar-nominated crowd-pleaser that won top honors from the directors and producers guilds last weekend. Loyal …

Does ‘Anora’ have all the right moves for Oscar voters?
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Does ‘Anora’ have all the right moves for Oscar voters?

LA Times  

Movies about, or at least prominently featuring, exotic dancers are not uncommon, but it’s rare for them to clean up at the box office and the Academy Awards. If “Anora” star Mikey Madison wins a statuette, she will be the first performer in such a role to do so in four decades: Mary Steenburgen scored the supporting actress trophy for …

Oscars 2025: How ‘Anora’ is leading the Best Picture race by simply outlasting the wreckage
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Oscars 2025: How ‘Anora’ is leading the Best Picture race by simply outlasting the wreckage

The Hindu  

For months, the Oscars race this year has had every contender suffering from some combination of bad luck, bad strategy, or the increasingly unavoidable reality that the Internet never forgets. Then, in one seismic weekend, Anora pulled off an improbable hat trick, winning Best Picture at the Producers Guild Awards, Best Director at the Directors Guild Awards, and Best Picture …

‘Anora’ takes PGA and DGA top honors. Is the Oscar next?
1 month, 3 weeks ago

‘Anora’ takes PGA and DGA top honors. Is the Oscar next?

LA Times  

An awards season notable for wild momentum swings saw another big shift Saturday night with Sean Baker’s “Anora” winning top honors from both the directors and producers guilds. It’s a perch that “Anora” had enjoyed after taking the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, where had its world premiere in May. But after “Anora” failed to take any prizes …

‘I want to do characters that are better than me’: Yura Borisov on his Oscar nomination for ‘Anora’
2 months, 1 week ago

‘I want to do characters that are better than me’: Yura Borisov on his Oscar nomination for ‘Anora’

LA Times  

If “Anora” is a cockeyed contemporary reconfiguration of the Cinderella story, then actor Yura Borisov is its Prince Charming. His nomination makes Borisov the first Russian actor nominated for an Academy Award in a performing category since Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1978 for “The Turning Point.” “Anora” won the Palme d’Or when it premiered last year at the Cannes Film Festival. …

Inside the Los Angeles film critics vote that gave ‘Anora’ best picture
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Inside the Los Angeles film critics vote that gave ‘Anora’ best picture

LA Times  

The Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. Those included Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-honored “Anora,” which took the award for best picture and saw two of its actors cited: Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov. GLENN WHIPP: Josh, when you asked me to create a file for this story before the weekend, I put a placeholder headline atop it: “Los Angeles Film Critics …

Five films that could win best picture
4 months ago

Five films that could win best picture

LA Times  

Crisps, crumbles and cobblers are better than pie? Ralph Fiennes in “Conclave.” Sean Baker and Mikey Madison push the ‘Anora’ vibes to the brink Have you ever seen a photo of someone you’ve known for years that makes you change how you see them? I’m looking at an image of filmmaker Sean Baker taken shortly after his open-hearted, screwball adventure …

In "Anora," director Sean Baker paints a dazzling portrait of love, loss and self-discovery
5 months, 1 week ago

In "Anora," director Sean Baker paints a dazzling portrait of love, loss and self-discovery

Salon  

Though her name means “light and bright,” those two adjectives are hardly how anyone would describe Ani, Mikey Madison’s titular sex worker with a heart of gold in Sean Baker’s magnificent love story “Anora.” Not because those words aren’t fitting descriptors for Ani, but because she’s far more complex than a couple of attributes you can pull from the etymology …

Anora: This year’s Oscars front-runner deserves to be huge.
5 months, 1 week ago

Anora: This year’s Oscars front-runner deserves to be huge.

Slate  

Anora, the new movie from the sui generis writer-director Sean Baker, seems likely to be the one that catapults him from indie critical darling to that much rarer thing: a filmmaker whose work is both widely praised by festival-going cinephiles and widely watched by audiences who just want to have a good time. Related From Slate This Year’s Great Family …

It’s time to invite Sean Baker to the Oscars
10 months ago

It’s time to invite Sean Baker to the Oscars

LA Times  

You’d think hearing a single word read 34 times would get a little repetitive. Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ takes Cannes’ top prize Several years ago, my old friend Justin Chang and I got into it a little bit when his top movie of the year, “Call Me By Your Name,” took the L.A. Film Critics’ top prize by a single vote …

Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ wins Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor
10 months ago

Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ wins Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor

New Indian Express  

Sean Baker’s “Anora,” a comic but devastating Brooklyn odyssey about a sex worker who marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, won the Cannes Film Festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or. The win Saturday for “Anora” marked a coronation for Baker, the 53-year-old indie filmmaker of “The Florida Project " who used iPhones to make his 2015 film “Tangerine.” …

Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ wins Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor
10 months ago

Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ wins Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor

Associated Press  

Sean Baker’s “Anora,” a comic but devastating Brooklyn odyssey about a sex worker who marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, won the Cannes Film Festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or. The win Saturday for “Anora” marked a coronation for Baker, the 53-year-old indie filmmaker of “The Florida Project " who used iPhones to make his 2015 film “Tangerine.” …

Cannes 2024: Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ receives 10 minute standing ovation for sex worker dramedy
10 months, 1 week ago

Cannes 2024: Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ receives 10 minute standing ovation for sex worker dramedy

The Hindu  

Sean Baker’s latest film Anora received a rapturous reception at the Cannes Film Festival, earning a 10-minute standing ovation that lit up the event. Long live cinema!” The film stars Mikey Madison as Anora, a 23-year-old stripper from New York City whose fortunes change after meeting Vanya, played by Mark Eydelshteyn. Anora marks another successful Cannes outing for Baker, who …

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