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The trailer for “Anora,” Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning tale of the love story between a sex worker and the son of a Russian oligarch, is finally here.
The dramedy follows Anora (Mikey Madison), an Uzbek-American stripper whose boss often sets her up with Russian-speaking clients. One night, she meets Vanya (Mark Eidelstein), the wealthy young son of a Russian oligarch who pays to make her his girlfriend for the week. Unexpectedly, the two fall in love and elope — but the fairytale is threatened when Vanya’s parents find out.
“Anora” premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May to a 7.5-minute standing ovation and near universal acclaim. In Variety’s review, chief film critic Peter Debruge called the movie a “rowdy Safdie-style movie about two cultures (Russian and American), two languages (Russian and English) and two currencies (money and sex).” At the Cannes closing ceremony, “Anora” won the festival’s prestigious Palme d’Or for best film.
During a Cannes press conference for the film, Baker — who also directed “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket” — said he makes films about sex workers in hopes of “helping remove the stigma.”
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“If there is one intention with all of these films, I would say it’s by telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal,” he said. “It’s helping remove the stigma that’s been applied to this livelihood, that’s always been applied to this livelihood.”
“Anora” also stars Yuri Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Lindsey Normington, Ivy Wolk, Luna Sofía Miranda, Alena Gurevich, Aleksei Serebryakov and Darya Ekamasova. Its set to hit theaters on Oct. 18 from Neon.
Watch the trailer for “Anora” below.
