Anora is an American comedy-drama that mixes romance with humor. The movie first showed at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this past spring and won the top award, the Palme d’Or. This award is a big deal because it is the first American film to win since 2011’s The Tree of Life.
Anora is also the fifth movie from Neon to win the Palme d’Or in a row. Previous winners from Neon include Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 thriller, Parasite, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and other films like Titane, Triangle of Sadness, and Anatomy of a Fall.
The last two films were also nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. If this sparks your interest, read on to find out all about Anora before it hits theaters!
What Is the Release Date for ‘Anora’?
Anora will have its limited release in theaters on October 18, 2024. It will then expand to more theaters across the country in November. The movie lasts for 139 minutes, so be sure to use the restroom and drink less before watching it in theaters!
After its time in theaters, you will be able to buy or rent Anora on VOD or stream it on Hulu. Hulu has many Neon films, like Ferarri, Anatomy of a Fall, Infinity Pool, and more!
Watch the Trailer for ‘Anora’
After showing the trailer only in theaters before the movie Longlegs, NEON released the full trailer for Anora online on July 15, 2024.
The trailer does a good job of showing what the film is about. It combines drama, comedy, and romance, pulling viewers into the lives and choices of the main characters. Just like in real life, there are moments of laughter, tears, and even forgetting to buy more milk.
The second trailer for Anora was released by NEON on October 9, 2024.
Who Stars in ‘Anora’?
Mikey Madison plays the lead role of Anora, an exotic dancer in New York City. Madison is best known for her role as Max in the TV series Better Things and has also acted in films like Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood and Scream (2022).
Russian actor and director Mark Eidelshtein plays Anora’s love interest, Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov. Vanya’s parents are played by Aleksei Serebryakov (Nobody) and Darya Ekamasova (Give Me Liberty). Anora’s friend and roommate, Vera, is played by Ella Rubin, known for The Idea of You and her small role in Masters of the Air.
Yura Borisov, another Russian actor, plays Igor, who is likely sent by Vanya’s father to keep an eye on him in the U.S. Other cast members include Brittany Rodriguez (Red Rocket) as Dawn, Lindsey Normington (The Idol) as Diamond, Emily Weider as Nikki, and Luna Sofía Miranda as Lulu. Vincent Radwinsky (Four Letter Words) and Paul Weissman (The Final Equation) play Jimmy and Nick, respectively.
What Is ‘Anora’ About?
Anora is a lively drama about an exotic dancer who lives and performs in a special part of New York City with many Russian people. She speaks some Russian, so her boss, Jimmy (Radwinsky), often sends her to entertain Russian-speaking clients.
One night, she meets Vanya, the son of a powerful Russian oligarch, and they quickly connect. Vanya offers her a lot of money if she agrees to be exclusive with him while he is in the U.S., and she agrees.
As their relationship develops, Vanya reveals that he cannot stay in the U.S. for long unless he marries an American citizen. Happy, they decide to marry quickly. Everything seems fine until Vanya’s parents visit and discover he has “married a prostitute.”
Vanya’s parents want to annul the marriage, but he and Anora are determined to make it work, even if it means losing financial support from Vanya’s father. According to Variety, the film is a sincere love story that “makes Pretty Woman look like a Disney movie.”
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a fairytale when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. When the news reaches Russia, her dream is at risk as Vanya’s parents come to New York to get the marriage annulled.
Who Is Making ‘Anora’?
Sean Baker wrote and directed Anora. He is good at making “slice of life” films that show people from many different backgrounds. He grew up in Summit, NJ, where his mother was a teacher, and his father was a patent lawyer.
His father once represented him in a dispute over his 2004 film, Take Out, which was about an undocumented Chinese immigrant living and working in New York City.
Recently, Baker wrote and directed Tangerine, a film about a transgender sex worker who learns her boyfriend has been unfaithful during her time in jail. Tangerine was praised for its unique filming methods, as it was shot using three iPhone 5s smartphones.
Baker has also worked with A24 for his sixth film, The Florida Project, which follows a bright 6-year-old girl and her struggling mother living near Walt Disney World.
Before making Anora, Baker wrote and directed Red Rocket, a comedy-drama set in Texas about a “washed-up porn star” who returns home to start over, facing disapproval from everyone. Sean Baker creates realistic and sometimes tough images of American culture in ways that many people have not seen before.
His films connect with audiences and help them feel for the characters. Anora will be his seventh feature film and is expected to leave a strong impact on viewers.
The film is produced by Glen Basner (To Catch A Killer), Alison Cohen (The Outfit), Ken Meyer (Dog), Clay Pecorin (Honest Thief), and Milan Popelka (Arrival). It is produced by Alex Coco (Red Rocket), Baker’s wife, Samantha Quan (The Florida Project), and Sean Baker himself.
