After a phenomenal reception at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the coveted Palme d'Or, is Sean Baker's latest movie Anora on track for a Best Picture nomination?
The Palme d'Or is one of the most prestigious prizes in all of cinema and in recent years has been a harbinger for Best Picture nominations, as three of the four most recent Cannes winners (Anatomy of a Fall, Triangle of Sadness and Parasite) were then feted by the Academy (in the case of Parasite, it also went on to win the Best Picture). Another feather in Anora's cap is that it is the first US movie to win the Palme d'Or since 2011's The Tree of Life, which also was nominated for Best Picture.
However, we won't officially know if Anora can convert its Palme win to a Best Picture nomination until winter 2025. But here is what we do know about the movie, including when general audiences may get to see it, who's in it and more.
Anora release date
Anora is going from Cannes to the US awards season, as the movie has been given an October 18 release date, per Variety. It'll premiere first with a limited release in movie theaters (likely just Los Angeles and New York) before rolling out to additional markets.
At this time we don't have any information on when Anora may premiere in the UK or elsewhere outside of the US.
Anora cast
Leading the way for Anora is Mikey Madison as the titular Anora. Madison is a star on the rise, with plenty of noteworthy credits to her name already, including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Addams Family, Scream and the TV series Better Things. She is also set to star in the upcoming summer TV series Lady in the Lake.
The other two main cast members in Anora are Yuriy Borisov (Compartment Number 6) and Mark Eydelshteyn (Strana Sasha). IMDb lists other members of the cast, including Ivy Wolk, Karren Karagulian, Darya Ekamasova, Lindsey Normington and Vache Tovmasyan.
Anora plot
As he has done with all of his movies, Sean Baker pulled double duty directing and writing Anora. Here is the official synopsis for Anora:
"Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled."
Anora trailer
There is no trailer for Anora at this time, but when one becomes available we’ll add it here.
Anora reviews
In addition to the Cannes jury liking the movie, critics who saw it at the festival did as well. As of May 28, Anora is rated "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with a 97% positive score.
Sean Baker movies
Sean Baker is a fixture of independent film circles, though his movies have been getting more widespread attention in recent years. Here is a full rundown of his feature-length movies:
- Four Letter Words (2000)
- Take Out (2004)
- Prince of Broadway (2008)
- Starlet (2012)
- Tangerine (2015)
- The Florida Project (2017)
- Red Rocket (2021)
