Anora’s Night

As the curtains descend on the night of the 97th annual Academy Awards, speculation will rise. Did the most deserving movie win? Did the most accomplished actors triumph? This year there is one clear winner Anora at the Oscars, which won five awards including best actress for breakout star Mikey Madison, and a record-breaking four prizes for its director Sean Baker. He will go down in history for becoming the first person to win four Academy Awards for a single film—for directing, editing, writing and producing Anora.

There were other winners too tonight like Kieran Culkin, Adrien Brody and Zoe Saldana, whose victories were rather predictable. Emilia Perez might have been the most nominated film of the year with 13 nominations in its kitty, but it only took home two of those awards, for best supporting actress and best original song. This was a night where the recently deceased Gene Hackman was celebrated by his “dear friend” Morgan Freeman who reminisced, “Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy, I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work.’” Freeman asserted that Hackman could be rest assured that the world celebrated his work and so much more.

Anora is a love story based around a sex worker Anora Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) and a rich Russian heir Vanya Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), son of a Russian oligarch. Having won the Palme d’Or it was clearly a top contender, but few expected it to sweep the awards as it did. In a reel-to-real-life irony, sixty-two-year-old Demi Moore who was nominated for her very first Oscar for The Substance lost out to 25-year-old Madison. Anora’s triumph is a victory for small-budget films with a big heart. Filmmaker Baker is known for training his lens on those who live on the margins, and he has in the past too focused on sex workers. When Baker went up to receive the award for Best Original Screenplay 2025, he first thanked his family and crew and producers. He then said, “I want to thank the sex worker community, they have shared their story, they have shared their life experience with me over the years,” he added, “My deepest respect.” He then lifted his trophy and said, “I share this with you.”

Arriving on the heels of the extravagant Oppenheimer, Anora’s victory is a reminder once again of the importance of the films that are not big budget but which are bold, heartfelt, unexpected and take a risk in their storytelling.

Academy Awards 2025Adrien BrodyAnoraCulkinEmilia PerezMikey MadisonOscar Awards 2025Web ExclusiveZoe Saldana