Sean Baker poses with the Palme d’Or award for ‘Anora’ during the Palme d’Or winners’ photocall at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival | Photo Credit: Pascal Le Segretain
Sean Baker Anora Beating tough competition from Payal Kapadia to win the prestigious Palme d’Or award We all imagine ourselves as light and Mohammed Rasoulof seed of the sacred figwhich received the Grand Prix and Special Prix awards respectively.
While accepting the award, Baker quipped about his long journey, saying, “This has really been my only goal as a filmmaker for the last 30 years. I really don’t know what I’m going to do with my life now.”
Baker, a familiar face at Cannes, made a splash when he first appeared The Florida ProjectIn 2017, an exploration of a mother and daughter living on the margins of society. He returned in 2021 Red RocketIt is the story of a porn star returning to her hometown in Texas.
Palme d’Or winner for ‘Anora’ director Sean Baker embraces Mikey Madison during the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Photo Credit: Clodagh Kilcoyne
with AnoraBaker continues to portray complex, marginalized characters, this time focusing on a 23-year-old New York City stripper played by Mickey Madison. The film’s cast also includes Mark Eidelshteyn, Yuri Borisov, Karen Karagulyan and Vache Tovmasyan.
The story is about Anora, whose life takes a dramatic turn after she meets Vanya, the son of a Russian oligarch. The film’s strong story and powerful acting earned it a 10-minute standing ovation at its premiere.
In her award acceptance speech, Baker dedicated the award to sex workers, saying, “This is for all sex workers, past, present and future, this is for you.”
He also stressed the importance of preserving the theatrical experience in cinemas, urging, “Right now, as filmmakers, we have to fight to keep cinema alive. That means making feature films for theatrical runs. The world needs to be reminded that watching movies at home while scrolling on the phone and checking emails and messages is not the right way to go, despite what some tech companies want us to think.”
Baker’s commitment to portraying sex workers on screen stems from her 2012 film small starafter which he developed lasting relationships with individuals in the adult film industry. In an interview in Cannes, he said, “I became friends with [sex workers] And realised there are a million stories from that world. If there is one purpose behind all these films, I would say it is to tell human stories, to tell stories that are hopefully universal. It is helping to remove the stigma that is put on this livelihood.”
Anora continues its distributor Neon’s predictions for the top prize at Cannes, which includes the past four Palme d’Or winners. the anatomy of falling (2023), triangle of sadness (2022), Titan (2021), and Parasites (2019). Neon’s awards campaign has inevitably led to success at the Oscars. Anatomy of Fallacy, The Triangle of Sorrow And ParasitesAll were nominated for Best Picture and won Oscars.
