How ‘Anora’ Won Best Picture and Shocked Us All

At the end of the night last night, as Sean Baker lifted the Best Picture Oscar for AnoraAnora, making him the first person in history to win four Academy Awards for one movie, I sat there wondering how this little indie movie about a sex worker crushed the whole night.

I was so incredibly happy for Baker and his team. I had no idea who he was until I saw Tangerine in 2016, an absolute vision of a film, shot on three iPhones, that felt so punk rock.

Then came The Florida Project, which was a movie that moved everyone who gave it the time of day, and felt like it was maybe the best movie made about modern America in a generation.

I could go title by title, but suffice it to say that Baker’s movies have energy and they have a distinct buzz.

But how did Anora get here?

Let’s dive in.

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Production: From Start to Finish

Before any of the accolades, the movie has to be made. Sean Baker and his wife, and producer, Samantha Quan, set out to make a movie inspired by stories Baker heard in the early 2000s about sex workers.

But like many good stories, this took a long while to gestate in his mind. In February of 2023, principal photography began, and over a 37-day shoot, a movie began to form.

I had to laugh when during Baker’s editing acceptance speech, he lambasted himself as the director for inundating himself with all the footage, but he had to know he had something special to work with.

Anora’s Festival and Theatrical Run

Once the movie was finished, it went on a pretty incredible festival run, where it won the festival’s Palme d’Or and got a ten-minute standing ovation.

It was at this moment people started paying attention to this movie as one that could possibly win some Oscars.

The movie never would have had any chance if companies like FilmNation, Neon, and Le Pacte hadn’t gotten behind it to make sure it was released.

Once the movie hit theaters, it became a success. Not only did it hit with critics, but it hit with audiences as well. The movie has made $40,989,193 so far in its theatrical run. That’s pretty impressive for an indie.

A Well-Timed Release for Prestige

Another reason it got so much buzz is that it was released in the fall. People know the end-of-the-year releases are prestige movies, so it was taken seriously. It had time to build word of mouth of its Cannes win and then also build momentum for Oscar voting.

Justin Chang of The New Yorker wrote about the movie, saying: “Anora plays like a wild dream—first joyous, then catastrophic, and always fiercely unpredictable […] A contemporary return to screwball tradition is a welcome but challenging proposition, and Baker’s play with the form is hardly seamless. [Anora] built up a righteous steam of fury, now unleashes it against the Ivans of the world and salutes those toiling thanklessly in their employ.”

Other awards shows also began awarding Anora and its filmmakers, which kept it as part of the cultural lexicon.

The movie was nominated for five awards at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, seven at the 78th British Academy Film Awards (winning Best Actress and Best Casting), and then wound up with six at the 97th Academy Awards.

The Ingredients for a Hit: A Known Director, Diversity, and Sex Workers

It’s a crazy stat, but the Academy also loves movies about prostitutes. Something like 20+ women have been nominated or won an Academy Award playing a sex worker.

Also, Anora is a very young and noisy movie. It had a director who everyone knew was a vocal advocate for indie film, an actress whose pedigree was Scream and Tarantino, and an ensemble that felt fresh and new.

In the post “Oscars So White” world, the Academy added a lot more young and diverse people to their voting block. Thousands of new people have been added, so that when Anora was peaking, it was probably a movie that spoke to them more than others.

All these factors led to the movie winning Best Picture. Well, that and the movie being GREAT. It’s so hard to predict why people vote the way they do. but in a year where it felt like there weren’t that many overwhelming favorites, Anora took people on a ride that was both fun and emotional.

It tapped into the taboo and the profane in fun and exciting ways.

And it captured the hearts of the people who mattered most, the Academy.

Let me know what you think in the comments.