Sex and money: they make the world go round and Sean Baker’s movies spin. Usually, there’s more of the former than the latter, in Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket. And here again, Ani (Mikey Madison), a stripper, will trade what she has—which is sex—for what she needs—which is money. Enter Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the guileless son of a Russian oligarch, who’s not just an easy mark, he’s richer than even Ani can dream of. These two meet and it’s fireworks and fairytales—cue a Vegas wedding—at least until his parents get wind of it. At which point, watch out, because Mr. Baker is just getting warmed up.
Greta Gerwig’s Cannes jury bestowed the Palme d’Or on this breathless modern Cinderella story, and it’s hard to remember a more entertaining winner. As always with Baker’s films, Anora comes on fast and funny but it’s unmistakably situated in the real world, a place where power typically trumps romance, but where you should never underestimate the survival skills of a woman with nothing to lose.
Palme d’Or, Cannes 2024
Media Partner
Community Partner
Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, Yura Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan
USA
2024
In English and Russian with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Ken Meyer, Clay Pecorin, Glen Basner, Alison Cohen, Milan Popelka
Producer
Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan
Screenwriter
Sean Baker
Cinematography
Drew Daniels
Editor
Sean Baker
Production Design
Stephen Phelps
Sean Baker
Sean Baker is a writer, director, producer, and editor. His credits include Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), the Oscar-nominated The Florida Project (2017), and Red Rocket (2021). Anora (2024), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, is his latest film.
Filmography: Take Out (2004); Tangerine (2015); The Florida Project (2017); Red Rocket (2021)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Delicatessen
Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet collaborated with Marc Caro on their first film, a breathlessly inventive and unexpectedly charming comedy about two young lovers evading a cannibal butcher in a post-apocalyptic France.
Democracy Under Siege
As the USA turns 250, Oscar-nominated director Laura Nix considers the roots of the current political crisis with commentary from historian Heather Cox Richardson, progressive politician Jamie Raskin, and cartoonist Ann Telnaes, among others.
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This rousing documentary (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) never puts a foot wrong as it recreates a tense, prolonged stand-off between the police and the citizens of Glasgow when an Immigration Enforcement squad attempt to arrest two men from their homes.
Boyz n the Hood
Twenty-three-year-old writer-director John Singleton's groundbreaking portrait of three young men growing up in South Central is a film of integrity and compassion. It's a far richer portrait of Black lives than Hollywood's gangsta exploitation pics.
Romería
An orphan from a young age, 18-year-old Marina intends to pursue a university scholarship. The application, however, requires the signatures of her paternal grandparents, compelling her to embark on a pilgrimage and seek out the family she has never met.