Anora, directed by Sean Baker, was produced on a very low budget of $6 million, grossed $41 million at the box office, and won 5 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing.
Filmmaker Sean Baker and the Anora cast and crew receive the Best Picture award.
The Life Story of a Stripper
Anora, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, is a film that conveys a social message about how people perceive each other. The film tells the story of a few tumultuous weeks in the life of Anora, a stripper who marries a wealthy playboy, and vividly portrays the bitter reality of labor exploitation.
Baker built his career by focusing on the fringes of society, creating films like Tangerine (2015) and The Florida Project (2017) that tell the stories of people often overlooked by mainstream cinema. With Anora , he expands this theme to a larger scale.
Anora retains Sean Baker's signature aesthetic with natural acting and unpretentious settings, yet it leaves a lasting impression on viewers.
Scene from the movie Anora
In the film, New York is vibrant and bustling, and in this constantly moving city, there are strip clubs. The dilapidated apartments and luxurious penthouses all feel authentic, contributing to the stark contrast between Anora (Mikey Madison) and Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn) in a world where hundreds of other Anoras would crowd in but remain unnoticed.
Anora constantly shifts, beginning with a romance, then transitioning into a feminist drama, then veering into humor about mistakes, and finally culminating in something uncompromising, a profound look at power, class, and control.
Another compelling aspect of Anora is that it doesn't just tell a story about power, but also portrays it through deliberate choices. In a world of money and influence, the wealthy don't need to speak up or make threats. The quiet assertion of control, the ability to make someone disappear without a trace, is far more terrifying.
Mikey Madison received the Best Actress award for her role in Anora.
Mikey Madison (25 years old) plays Anora, a stripper and prostitute. Known for her sharp, emotionless appearance in Scream (2022), Madison delivers a performance so authentic that audiences feel like they are watching a real person.
Luna Sofia Miranda met director Sean Baker at a strip club, and her life changed forever. That night, Miranda (26 years old) was called in at the last minute to be a dancer at a Brooklyn strip club. She struck up a conversation with people who looked like "any other couple" at the bar, but it turned out to be director Baker and his wife, producer Samantha Quan.
The couple quickly discovered Miranda was an aspiring actress and invited her to audition for the role of Lulu, Anora's best friend and colleague, the main character in the film Anora .
"I feel incredibly proud to represent my community because most of the girls I work with dance at clubs to pay for film school and rent. I think Anora has given many people hope that they can make their dreams come true," Miranda said.
Anora 's victory is clear evidence of the voice of independent filmmaking. "If you're trying to make an independent film, keep doing it. We need more. This is proof," Sean Baker, a director known for his short films about porn stars, transgender sex workers, and other minorities, told Reuters.
Sean Baker made history, a shame for Demi Moore.
Holding four Oscar statuettes for the same film is a new record, one that few could achieve except for Sean Baker.
The 54-year-old director won four Academy Awards for producing, directing, writing, and editing Anora – something unprecedented in the previous 96 Academy Awards ceremonies. Only Walt Disney had won four Academy Awards in 1954, but with four different films.
"I want to thank the Academy for recognizing an independent film. Anora was made with the blood, sweat, and tears of incredible artists," Sean Baker said when accepting his fourth Oscar.
Director Sean Baker won four Academy Awards for his film Anora.
However, the biggest shock was when Mikey Madison won the Best Actress award for her role in Anora , beating out a host of big names such as Cynthia Erivo, Karla Sofía Gascón, Fernanda Torres, and especially Demi Moore.
Madison was visibly surprised when she won her first Oscar, a surprising victory over the leading contender and first-time nominee Demi Moore.
Demi Moore's performance as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance —a satirical horror film about the body directed by Coralie Fargeat—won numerous awards, including the Golden Globe, the Critics' Choice Award, and many others. She was praised by many critics for her challenging role, as the director required her to perform many psychologically and physically demanding scenes, a quality often highly valued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the organization that awards the Oscars).
Results of the 2025 Academy Awards
Best Picture: Anora ; Best Actor: Adrien Brody ( The Brutalist ); Best Actress: Mikey Madison ( Anora ); Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin ( A Real Pain ); Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña ( Emilia Pérez ); Best Director: Sean Baker ( Anora ); Best Editing: Sean Baker ( Anora ); Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker ( Anora ); Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan ( Conclave ); Best International Film: I'm Still Here (Brazil); Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley ( The Brutalist ); Best Animated Film: Flow ; Best Documentary: No Other Land .
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phim-doc-lap-kinh-phi-thap-dai-thang-oscar-2025-185250303234902016.htm
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