50 Fun Facts About Anora

Who wrote, directed, produced and edited Anora?

He edited it in Adobe Premiere Pro, and admitted to Josh Safdie he was high while doing it.

Who plays Anora 'Ani' Mikheeva?

Baker cast her without an audition after Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Scream.

In which Brooklyn neighbourhood does Ani live?

It's a heavily Russian-American area; Baker and Madison moved to southern Brooklyn during pre-production.

Why is Ani introduced to Vanya in the first place?

Madison learned Russian for the part.

How much does Vanya offer Ani to be his girlfriend for a week?

The week includes an extravagant trip to Las Vegas.

Who plays Vanya?

It was the young Russian actor's international breakthrough after The Land of Sasha.

Why does Vanya propose to Ani?

He's just revealed he must return to Russia to work for his father.

Where do Ani and Vanya marry?

Nevada law later scuppers the New York annulment.

What does Vanya buy Ani after the wedding?

Toros later confiscates the ring; Igor gives it back at the end.

Who is Toros?

Galina orders him to find the couple and arrange an annulment.

Who plays Igor, the henchman?

The Russian actor earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

What does Vanya do when the henchmen arrive at the mansion?

Ani is left to struggle violently with Garnik and Igor.

How much does Toros offer Ani for the annulment?

He also tells her the mansion and money belong to Vanya's parents.

Where do they finally find Vanya?

He's being entertained by a rival dancer called Diamond.

Why is the annulment dismissed at the New York courthouse?

So Galina orders everyone onto a plane to Las Vegas.

What does Ani tell Galina before leaving?

Galina had threatened her family with financial ruin.

What does Igor return to Ani in the car at the end?

She initiates sex, then breaks down sobbing in his arms when he tries to kiss her.

What inspired Baker's story?

He'd also edited wedding videos for Russian-Americans in 2000 and 2001.

Which memoirist did Baker hire as a creative consultant?

He also hired sex workers as consultants and cast members.

How many days did the film shoot?

The 25-minute home invasion scene alone took 10 days.

What format was Anora shot on?

Cinematographer Drew Daniels used vintage LOMO lenses on it.

How did Baker find the Zakharov house?

The Mill Basin house had once belonged to a real oligarch, Vasily Anisimov.

Which 1970s New York films inspired the cinematography?

Cinematographer Drew Daniels used Atlas Orion lenses for low light.

Which cult 1970 film inspired Ani's red scarf?

The credits give special thanks to Jesús Franco and Soledad Miranda.

Which two pop songs feature prominently on the soundtrack?

The Take That track is a Robin Schulz rework.

Instead of an intimacy coordinator, who demonstrated positions on set?

Madison said she was offered a coordinator but felt more comfortable this way.

Which festival gave Anora its premiere and top prize?

It got a 10-minute standing ovation and the Palme d'Or.

Who was the festival jury president who praised the film's Lubitsch and Hawks echoes?

She said the jury 'collectively felt transported'.

Anora was the first American-produced Palme d'Or winner since which film?

Terrence Malick's 2011 film was the last.

Which US distributor released Anora, its fifth straight Palme d'Or winner?

Focus Features handled most other territories.

What was the film's budget?

It grossed $59.3 million, Baker's biggest hit.

How much did Neon spend on prints, advertising and the awards campaign?

Three times the film's budget, per CEO Tom Quinn.

How many Oscars did Anora win?

Picture, Director, Actress, Original Screenplay and Editing, from six nominations.

Baker's four Oscars in one night equalled whose record?

He's the only person to win all four for the same film.

Which three films had previously won both the Palme d'Or and Best Picture?

Parasite had done it just five years earlier.

Who hosted the 2025 Oscars?

It was his first time.

Which film led that year's nominations with thirteen?

The most ever for a non-English-language film; it won two.

Which actor gave the longest acceptance speech in Oscar history that night?

It ran 5 minutes 37 seconds.

Which two BAFTAs did Anora win?

Baker shared the casting award with his wife Samantha Quan.

Which earlier Baker film did he shoot on an iPhone?

Anora, by contrast, was shot on 35mm.

On which streaming service did Anora begin streaming in March 2025?

It arrived on March 17, two weeks after its five Oscar wins pushed it back into nearly 2,000 cinemas, a 574% jump in weekly box office.

Which 2022 horror film, with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, convinced Baker to cast Mikey Madison?

He hired her without an audition. She then learned Russian, visited strip clubs and worked on a Brooklyn accent to prepare.

What is the name of the Manhattan club where Ani works at the start of the film?

The scenes were shot at two connected real clubs near Hudson Yards, Rosewood Theater and HQ KONY. Producer Alex Coco worked as the DJ for the club music.

Roughly how much did Anora gross worldwide?

About $20.5 million came from the US and Canada. It is Sean Baker's highest-grossing film, on a budget of just $6 million.

Which label released Anora on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in April 2025?

The disc carries two commentaries, one with Baker, his producers and cinematographer Drew Daniels, the other with Baker and the main cast.

At which Las Vegas casino resort were scenes filmed?

The crew also shot on Fremont Street downtown. Most of the film, though, was made in Brooklyn across Brighton Beach, Coney Island and Sheepshead Bay.

The Zakharov mansion used in the film stands in which Brooklyn neighbourhood?

The house at 2458 National Drive was once owned by Vasily Anisimov, an oligarch with ties to Russia. Baker and Madison moved to southern Brooklyn during pre-production to learn the area.

Which software did Sean Baker use to edit Anora, as on his earlier films?

Baker told Josh Safdie he did some of the editing while high. The cut went on to win the Oscar for Best Film Editing, one of his record-tying four that night.

How many of the 37 shooting days went on the 25-minute home-invasion sequence?

The penthouse 'abduction' portion alone took five days, with wide shots first and close-ups sometimes stretching into the night to match the daylight look.

Where did Sight and Sound rank Anora among the films of 2024?

Film Comment also put it in its top ten, and readers of The New York Times later voted it the 14th-best film of the 21st century.