Camille Naredo

Article (news)

Anora

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1740304915889Anora_Casino.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A scene from &quot;Anora.&quot; Handout photo"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A scene from &quot;Anora.&quot; <em>Handout photo</em></span></span></span></div><p>LOS ANGELES -- Sean Baker, whose low-budget movie &quot;Anora&quot; is the frontrunner for next weekend&#x27;s Oscars, delivered an impassioned plea to &quot;keep indie film alive&quot; as he won top prize at the Spirit Awards Saturday.</p><p>The annual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, held in a giant tent at Los Angeles&#x27; Santa Monica beach, only celebrates movies made for less than $30 million.</p><p>Baker, long a leading figure of the US independent movie circuit, who is now shooting to mainstream success, won best feature and best director for &quot;Anora,&quot; which was shot for just $6 million.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/2/22/porn-stars-oscar-favorite-anora-gets-sex-work-right-1444">READ: Porn stars say Oscar favorite &#x27;Anora&#x27; gets sex work right</a></div><p>&quot;Indie film is struggling right now more than ever,&quot; said Baker.</p><p>&quot;I personally do not have children, but I know for a fact that if I did, I would not be able to make the movies that I make,&quot; warned one of the United States&#x27; most respected directors.</p><p>His latest film &quot;Anora&quot; portrays Ani, a stripper and escort, whose whirlwind marriage to the son of a Russian oligarch rapidly unravels in disastrous circumstances.</p><p>Mikey Madison, who plays Ani, won best lead performer honors at the Spirit Awards.</p><p>Having launched at the Cannes film festival last May, where it won the Palme d&#x27;Or, &quot;Anora&quot; became an arthouse hit, grossing $40 million worldwide.</p><p>It is widely tipped to win best picture at the Oscars.</p><p>But Baker warned that the collapse of DVD sales, which once supported up-and-coming filmmakers, means creatives like him rarely make any money even when their movies succeed in theaters.</p><p>He warned that major Hollywood studios swallow profits, refuse to &quot;green light&quot; movies tackling controversial subjects, and force directors to cast actors based on &quot;how many followers they have on social media.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m an indie film lifer... the system has to change, because this is simply unsustainable,&quot; said Baker.</p><p>&quot;Let&#x27;s not undervalue ourselves any longer,&quot; he said, urging agents, financiers and studios to help creative directors &quot;keep indie film alive.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/2/9/-anora-wins-top-hollywood-producer-and-director-prizes-1644">READ: &#x27;Anora&#x27; wins top Hollywood producer and director prizes</a></div><div><strong>- Oscars looming -</strong></div><div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAEyze-tm4MR6kEa&amp;cid=ABUrLL_nV4g1ahGm"></script></div><p>Stars attending the low-key Spirit Awards gala included Emma Stone, Demi Moore, Michelle Yeoh and Jesse Eisenberg, who won best screenplay for &quot;A Real Pain.&quot;</p><p>Kieran Culkin also won best supporting performance for the comedy, about two polar opposite US cousins retracing their Jewish heritage in Poland.</p><p>&quot;Flow,&quot; a Latvian, dialogue-free animation about animals banding together to survive a mysterious flood, won best international film.</p><p>Best documentary went to &quot;No Other Land,&quot; about the destruction of a village in the occupied West Bank.</p><p>It is the favorite to win the same prize at the Academy Awards on March 2, yet still has not been able to find a distributor in the United States.</p><p>&quot;Nickel Boys,&quot; another Oscar best picture nominee, about historic abuse at a Florida school and shot entirely from the first-person perspective, won best cinematography.</p><p>&quot;September 5,&quot; about the terrorist massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, won best editing.</p><p>The Spirit Awards will not affect this year&#x27;s Oscars, as voting has already ended for the season-capping 97th Academy Awards.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>The annual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, held in a giant tent at Los Angeles' Santa Monica beach, only celebrates movies made for less than $30 million.</p>

The annual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, held in a giant tent at Los Angeles' Santa Monica beach, only celebrates movies made for less than $30 million.

Oscars favorite Baker says indie film 'struggling' as 'Anora' tops Spirit Awards

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Oscars favorite Baker says indie film 'struggling' as 'Anora' tops Spirit Awards

Agence France-Presse,

Andrew Marszal

Published Feb 23, 2025 06:45 PM PHT

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Spirit Awards

Oscars

Academy Awards

awards season

Sean Baker

Anora

Mikey Madison

Demi Moore

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