SEAN Baker’s 2024 movie Anora swept the Oscars, taking home a staggering five trophies.
The Oscar-winning movie about a New York sex worker cost just $6 million to make but went on to make over $40 million worldwide. But what is Anora really about?
Anora follows its titular character, who is nicknamed “Ani”, as she works in a strip club.
She meets the son of a Russian oligarch named Ivan, who has come to the USA for a life of partying and excess.
They begin a whirlwind romance, when Ivan offers Anora $15,000 to be his girlfriend for the week.
The film blends a variety of genres, from romance to comedy while also being listed as a thriller.
Anora’s director billed the movie as an anti-Pretty Woman, as it offers a more realistic view on sex work and doesn’t shy away from an unhappy ending.
Ivan is forced to go on the run when his parents arrive in America, as they insist that Ani and her husband get a divorce.
Ultimately, Ani is forced back to her old life after Ivan abandons her and jets back to Russia to join his family’s gangster business.
The film stars Mikey Madison as Anora, in her first leading role.
She previously starred in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as Manson family cultist Susan Atkins and in Scream 5 as Ghostface.
Ivan is played by Russian actor Mark Eydelshteyn, who rocketed to fame in his home country with the 2022 film The Land of Sasha.
Opening up to Teen Vogue about filming the movie, Mark said: “The first few days, it was very stressful to me to be on set.
“New people and new culture and new country and new rules and because of it, I just was a little bit more goofy and weird.”
Much of Anora was filmed in Brighton Beach, New York, which is a neighbourhood famous for its Russian-American restaurants and community.
Mikey revealed that she learnt Russian for the role and spoke with real-life sex workers, many of whom starred in the film as extras.
She also shared that the film’s director Sean Baker is “really trusting towards his actors and definitely creates an environment where he welcomes improvisation.”
Anora has been an Oscar frontrunner since it landed in cinemas, with its anthemic theme song Greatest Day by Take That.
Mikey won the best actress trophy and thanked the sex workers she met while filming the movie.
She said: "I want to honour and recognise the sex worker community.
“I will continue to support and be an ally... the women I've had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this entire incredible experience."
The actress had fierce competition for the trophy, with Demi Moore also being a favourite to win.
Demi played Elizabeth Sparkle in the body-horror film The Substance, which follows an actress who creates a younger version of herself using a mysterious black market drug.
The Substance, which was so gory that audiences left the cinema early, won the Oscar for best makeup and hairstyling.
Anora was also awarded Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Director.
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