‘Anora’ Wins Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars
The script that brought audiences some of their favorite lines from last year — “I shared my playlist with him and he was very dismissive!” — has finally won Best Original Screenplay at the 2025 Oscars.
Also nominated for Best Picture, Sean Baker’s dark fairytale stars Mikey Madison as a New York stripper who gets suddenly swept off her feet by the son of a Russian oligarch, played by Mark Eydelshteyn. “Anora” was favored by IndieWire’s Awards Editor Marcus Jones in his predictions for the category after it took home top honors at the WGA Awards in February. The low-budget triumph was distributed by Neon and made its world premiere at Cannes last May, where it won the Palme d’Or.
More from IndieWire
“I want to thank the sex work community,” Baker said in his acceptance speech, echoing his very first remarks on the film from its debut in France last May. “They have shared their stories. They have shared their life experiences with me over the years. My deepest respect. I share this with you.”
The filmmaker went on to praise distributor Neon and studio FilmNation, and described his cast as having “elevated everything I wrote.” When Madison won Best Leading Actress at the BAFTAs, she also shared her victory with the sex work community and addressed her remarks directly to them. She said, “I see you. You deserve respect and human decency. I will always be a friend and ally, and I urge others to do the same.”
“You are such an incredible person,” Madison added of Baker. “You made my dreams come true.”
The stigma facing sex workers — and by extension, films about sex work — remains an area of keen interest in Hollywood. At the 97th Academy Awards, “Anora” was also recognized with nominations for Best Director and Best Editing (both for Baker), Best Actress (for Madison), and Best Supporting Actor (for Yura Borisov in his breakthrough performance).
A kind of sideways Cinderella story featuring an unforgettable last scene, Baker’s melancholic masterpiece continues his artistic journey exploring marginalized people in pursuit of the American Dream. Despite the buzzy success of Baker’s past projects in the indie film world — like “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project” (both about sex work) — not even 2021’s beloved “Red Rocket” earned the writer/director a seat at the Dolby before now.
“All cultures still apply a stigma to sex work, and they’re dismissed and they’re disrespected and discarded,” Baker said in an earlier interview with IndieWire’s Anne Thompson. “And what I wanted to have come across to the audience is how a young woman’s hopes and dreams being shattered is affected by the nonchalant, casual attitude of others. They couldn’t care less about her heart, who she is as a person, her humanity.”
Prior to hosting the 2024 IndieWire Honors ceremony last fall, “Red Rocket” star Simon Rex reflected on his role as a retired porn star in Baker’s earlier film. He also recalled the directors’ insights into the Academy — specifically spotlighting the voting body’s historic aversion to male nudity.
“He said, ‘The festivals and the Indie Spirits are going to love ‘Red Rocket’ and then the Academy Awards are going to run the other way,’” Rex said. “And they did. Now, I think they’ll embrace ‘Anora’ more than ‘Red Rocket,’ but it’ll be interesting to see. I’m just hoping Sean gets some nominations and some wins because the movie deserves it.”
“Anora” brought Baker back to the Indie Spirit Awards the weekend before the Oscars, where the film won Best Feature. Baker also won Best Director at the Spirits, stealing headlines with a semi-viral acceptance speech demanding higher up-front fees for filmmakers.
“I am an indie film lifer,” he said. “And I know that there are other indie film lifers in this room — those who don’t see indie films as calling cards, those who don’t make these films to land a series or a studio film. Some of us want to make personal films that are intended for theatrical release with subject matter that would never be greenlit by the big studios. We want complete artistic freedom.”
Madison also won Best Lead Performance at the Indie Spirits. Prior to that, “Anora” was named Best Picture at the Critics Choice Awards. Producers Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Baker were also honored for Outstanding Producing at the PGA Awards in early February. That same day, Baker won for Outstanding Directing at the DGA Awards.
Best of IndieWire
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
