Anora

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Movie Details
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genres | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
Release date | May 21, 2024 (Cannes) October 18, 2024 (United States) |
Running time | 2hr 19min |
Age rating | R |
Starring | Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Aleksei Serebryakov |
Directed by | Sean Baker |
Written by | Sean Baker |
Produced by | Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, Sean Baker |
Cinematography by | Drew Daniels |
Edited by | Sean Baker |
Music by | Matthew Hearon-Smith |
Casting by | Sean Baker |
Production Design by | Stephen Phelps |
Art Direction by | Ryan Scott Fitzgerald |
Set Decoration by | Christopher Phelps |
Costume Design by | Jocelyn Pierce |
Production Company | FilmNation Entertainment Cre Film |
Distributor | Neon |
Cast & Characters
- Mikey Madison as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a high-priced stripper at the Headquarters strip club
- Mark Eydelshteyn (alternatively anglicized to “Eidelstein”) as Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov, the wealthy but immature son of a Russian oligarch
- Yura Borisov as Igor, a Russian henchman hired by Toros to look after Vanya
- Karren Karagulian as Toros, an Armenian handler employed by Vanya’s father to look after him
- Vache Tovmasyan as Garnick, an Armenian henchman and Toros’ brother
- Aleksei Serebryakov as Nikolai Zakharov, Vanya’s father
- Luna Sofía Miranda as Lulu, another Headquarters stripper and a friend of Ani’s
- Lindsey Normington as Diamond, an unfriendly Headquarters stripper who competes with Ani for clients
- Darya Ekamasova as Galina Zakharova, Vanya’s mother
- Anton Biller as Tom
- Vlad Mamai as Alska
- Maria Tichinskaya as Dasha
- Ivy Wolk as Crystal, Vanya’s friend who works at a Coney Island candy shop
- Ella Rubin as Vera Mikheeva, Ani’s sister
- Alena Gurevich as Klara, a housekeeper for the Zakharova mansion
- Sebastian Conelli as tow truck driver
Storyline
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.
About Anora Movie
Director Sean Baker was inspired to create Anora by a friend’s story about a Russian-American newlywed who was kidnapped as collateral. Additionally, his experience editing wedding videos in 2000 and 2001, including those of Russian-Americans in New York, influenced the film’s direction. Baker aimed to tell human, universally relatable stories and hoped to remove the stigma long attached to sex work. He enlisted Andrea Werhun, a Canadian writer and actress known for her memoir Modern Whore about her experiences as a sex worker, as a creative consultant.
Baker cast Mikey Madison after seeing her performances in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and Scream (2022), hiring her without an audition. Madison fully immersed herself in the role, learning Russian, visiting strip clubs, and working on perfecting a Brooklyn accent. Despite some confusion in the media regarding Anora Mikheeva’s heritage, Baker clarified that the character is of Russian ethnicity, hailing from one of the post-Soviet countries.
Principal photography began in February 2023 in Brooklyn, with scenes shot in neighborhoods like Brighton Beach, Coney Island, and Sheepshead Bay. The film, which took 37 days to complete, featured a challenging 25-minute home invasion sequence that required 10 days to shoot.
It was filmed on Kodak 35mm film in 4-perf widescreen anamorphic format using an Arricam LT camera. Color correction was done at FotoKem using DaVinci Resolve. For shooting, vintage LOMO prime and zoom lenses were predominantly used, with Atlas Orion lenses for low-light scenes.
Some scenes were also shot in Las Vegas, including at the Palms Casino Resort and on Fremont Street. The cinematography drew inspiration from 1970s crime dramas set in New York, such as The French Connection and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. Alex Coco, one of the film’s producers, contributed by curating the music for the club scenes.
The mansion featured in the film was shot at 2458 National Drive in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, which was once owned by Russian oligarch Vasily Anisimov. Baker found the location through a Google search for the “biggest and best mansion in Brighton Beach.” To better understand the area, Baker and Mikey Madison moved to southern Brooklyn during pre-production. Several of the restaurant and club scenes were filmed at locations the producers frequented.
During the Cannes Film Festival press conference, Madison shared that Baker and producer Samantha Quan, his wife, demonstrated the actors’ sex scenes by acting them out themselves. While an intimacy coordinator was offered, Madison felt most comfortable working with Baker and Quan, given the close relationship they had developed during the year of preparation.
The film’s soundtrack features Robin Schulz’s rework of Greatest Day by Take That and All the Things She Said by t.A.T.u., alongside a personal “stripper playlist” curated by Madison’s friend, which included tracks from Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Slayyyter.
Anora Release Date
In October 2023, FilmNation Entertainment acquired worldwide distribution rights for Anora. The film was then sold by FilmNation to Le Pacte for France, Lev for Israel, Kismet for Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world, excluding North America, in deals similar to those made for Baker’s previous film, Red Rocket. In November 2023, Neon secured the North American distribution rights and released the film in limited theaters on October 18, 2024.
Anora had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2024, and won the prestigious Palme d’Or on May 25. The film received a 10-minute standing ovation at the end of its screening. This marked the fifth consecutive Palme d’Or winner distributed by Neon in the U.S. and the first American-produced film to win the Palme d’Or since Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life in 2011.
The film also screened at several major international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, the San Sebastián International Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival, and the 19th Rome Film Festival. Anora was also the closing film at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024.
Budget & Box Office Collection
Budget | $6 million |
Domestic Opening | $550,503 |
Domestic Collection | $15,063,764 |
International Collection | $19,564,164 |
Worldwide Collection | $34,627,928 |
Where to Watch Anora Movie Online?
Awards & Nominations
Anora won the Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. It was subsequently nominated for five awards at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, seven awards at the 30th Critics’ Choice Awards, seven awards at the 78th British Academy Film Awards, and six awards at the 97th Academy Awards with Baker, Madison and Borisov receiving nominations at each of the ceremonies. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named Anora as one of the top 10 films of 2024.