Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ receives 7.5-minute standing ovation at Cannes

Sean Baker’s “Anora,” a hilarious yet touching drama in which a sex worker falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch, energized the Cannes Film Festival with a 7.5-minute standing ovation on Tuesday.

As the crowd applauded, the maverick indie director and Cannes darling said on the microphone: “Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for making dreams come true… And thank you also to all of you for coming to see our film about the best screen. in the world. Long live cinema!

The ovation was not the only occasion for applause: the audience erupted in joy several times during the film’s two hours, including several times during a wild scene in which the oligarch’s associates make a raid on his son’s mansion.

In the film, Mikey Madison (“Better Things,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) plays Anora, a 23-year-old who works at a strip club outside of New York. Her luck changes when she meets Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch, who takes her on a week-long adventure in Vegas during which the two marry. But when Vanya’s parents find out, the two find themselves stalked by Russian gangsters, who try to convince them to call off the wedding. Madison and Eydelshteyn both deliver standout performances in “Anora,” balancing witty dialogue (in two languages) with plenty of sex scenes and that awkward feeling of new love that makes their connection palpable through the screen.

Baker has become a Cannes regular in recent years. He debuted with “The Florida Project,” his look at a mother and her young daughter living on the economic margins, at the 2017 edition of the festival, then returned in 2021 with “Red Rocket,” the story of ‘a returning porn star. in his hometown in Texas. “The Florida Project” was sold to A24 in Cannes and went on to receive an Oscar nomination for Willem Dafoe. “Red Rocket” was also released by A24 and garnered several critics’ awards and nominations for Baker and star Simon Rex. This time, Neon, the independent studio behind “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Parasite,” is handling the distribution of “Anora.”

Baker walked the red carpet outside the Palace on Tuesday afternoon, as did members of the film’s ensemble, which includes Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan.

Baker’s other credits include “Tangerine,” the story of a transgender sex worker, which debuted at Sundance in 2015. It was shot using smartphones.