Cannes Film Festival 2024: Read All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews, Including Palme d’Or Winner ‘Anora’
Read all of Deadline’s Cannes Film Festival reviews below, including Palme d’Or winner Anora.
The New York-set romantic dramedy charts the story of a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms into a modern Cinderella when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch.
The film, playing in the official Competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored a 10-minute ovation earlier this week. It was one of a number of critically praised films this edition. Check out all our reviews below.
All We Imagine as Light ‘All We Imagine as Light’
Section: Competition
Director: Payal Kapadia
Cast: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya KAdam, Hridhu Haroon
Deadline’s takeaway: And at a time when so much attention is being paid to the lives of the haves and the have-nots amid such financial imbalance worldwide, it’s refreshing to see the spotlight...
The New York-set romantic dramedy charts the story of a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms into a modern Cinderella when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch.
The film, playing in the official Competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored a 10-minute ovation earlier this week. It was one of a number of critically praised films this edition. Check out all our reviews below.
All We Imagine as Light ‘All We Imagine as Light’
Section: Competition
Director: Payal Kapadia
Cast: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya KAdam, Hridhu Haroon
Deadline’s takeaway: And at a time when so much attention is being paid to the lives of the haves and the have-nots amid such financial imbalance worldwide, it’s refreshing to see the spotlight...
- 5/29/2024
- by Pete Hammond, Joe Utichi, Damon Wise, Stephanie Bunbury and Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival was officially closed yesterday, May 25, 2024, as the prizes for the movies and the actors were awarded at the closing ceremony. It was a very exciting and content-filled event, and we have also reported on numerous movies that had their premiere at Cannes, some of which were received well, while others… not so much. But, of course, what everyone wants to know is who won the Palme d’Or, the most important award at Cannes, and we can finally confirm that Neon’s film Anora won the award for the best in-competition movie shown at the festival.
Several interesting facts can be said about this movie and its victory, so we are going to discuss them in the upcoming paragraphs, while here – we can only congratulate Anora and all the people involved with the project on a major success.
Anora was written and directed by Sean Baker,...
Several interesting facts can be said about this movie and its victory, so we are going to discuss them in the upcoming paragraphs, while here – we can only congratulate Anora and all the people involved with the project on a major success.
Anora was written and directed by Sean Baker,...
- 5/26/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
It just had to be, didn’t it.
U.S. distributor Neon only had two movies in the Competition: Anora and The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Neither could have fared any better with the critics and both won prizes tonight.
It was Sean Baker’s Anora that stormed to the top prize on the Riviera, making it a remarkable five Palme d’Or wins in a row for Tom Quinn’s outfit Neon.
“The future of cinema is where it started: in a movie theater,” said Baker, accepting his Palme d’Or. You can watch the acceptance speech below.
Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall won last year, following the US distributor’s previous acquisitions Triangle Of Sadness, Titane and Parasite.
Palme d'Or X five. Merci, Cannes. pic.twitter.com/FimbVR1kUw
— Neon (@neonrated) May 25, 2024
New York-set romantic dramedy Anora is about a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms...
U.S. distributor Neon only had two movies in the Competition: Anora and The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Neither could have fared any better with the critics and both won prizes tonight.
It was Sean Baker’s Anora that stormed to the top prize on the Riviera, making it a remarkable five Palme d’Or wins in a row for Tom Quinn’s outfit Neon.
“The future of cinema is where it started: in a movie theater,” said Baker, accepting his Palme d’Or. You can watch the acceptance speech below.
Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall won last year, following the US distributor’s previous acquisitions Triangle Of Sadness, Titane and Parasite.
Palme d'Or X five. Merci, Cannes. pic.twitter.com/FimbVR1kUw
— Neon (@neonrated) May 25, 2024
New York-set romantic dramedy Anora is about a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms...
- 5/25/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Up to this point, Mikey Madison––the fearless, explosive 27-year-old lead of Sean Baker’s Anora––is best-known for her chilling turn as the deranged killer in the 2022 Scream reboot. Before that she was the shrieking Manson girl in the finale of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. (Remember the one Rick Dalton torches in the pool?) Beyond this point, however, the world will know her for Anora. And they will know her.
The stardom won’t be a gift handed down by Baker, the writer, director, casting agent, and editor of the outrageous Brooklyn-based sex-worker-meets-Russian-oligarch-family comedy (not to be read as “family comedy”; it is anything but) that turns the heavy drama up to eleven about halfway through. All a director can do is set their actor up for success and inspire confidence––provide the proper tools, framing, character prep, and rehearsal. Of course, as author of the project,...
The stardom won’t be a gift handed down by Baker, the writer, director, casting agent, and editor of the outrageous Brooklyn-based sex-worker-meets-Russian-oligarch-family comedy (not to be read as “family comedy”; it is anything but) that turns the heavy drama up to eleven about halfway through. All a director can do is set their actor up for success and inspire confidence––provide the proper tools, framing, character prep, and rehearsal. Of course, as author of the project,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
Director Sean Baker and his Anora star Mikey Madison have spoken about the “collaborative” process of portraying sex workers in a film that he acknowledged hearkens back to the captivating love story in Pretty Woman.
Baker spoke with his cast at Cannes’ press conference for the film, which follows Anora (Madison), a young sex worker from Brooklyn, who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). But the fairytale is threatened when her fiancé’s parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
“Mikey had so much to do with the development of Anora,” Baker said as he lauded his lead actress. “I wrote the script for Mikey. We had a meeting and asked if she was interested, I said: ‘Okay, I’m going to write you a script and come back in three months.’ It took a year.
Baker spoke with his cast at Cannes’ press conference for the film, which follows Anora (Madison), a young sex worker from Brooklyn, who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). But the fairytale is threatened when her fiancé’s parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
“Mikey had so much to do with the development of Anora,” Baker said as he lauded his lead actress. “I wrote the script for Mikey. We had a meeting and asked if she was interested, I said: ‘Okay, I’m going to write you a script and come back in three months.’ It took a year.
- 5/22/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of the things Sean Baker does exceptionally well is draw us into a vivid and highly specific milieu, nurturing our affections for characters who are rough-edged, to put it mildly, and then whip up a vortex of steadily escalating chaos. The writer-director is like a conductor of raw symphonies about people from the marginalized fringes caught in a dizzying whirl, sometimes of their own making and sometimes not. Sex workers have been a big part of Baker’s gallery of outsiders, which makes Anora a fine addition to his terrific body of work.
As a character, played by Mikey Madison with a sweetness that humanizes even the most transactional situations and a defensiveness that makes her dangerous when threatened, Anora, who goes by Ani, stands alongside the defiantly resilient protagonists of Baker’s last handful of films, from Starlet and Tangerine through The Florida Project and Red Rocket.
Ani...
As a character, played by Mikey Madison with a sweetness that humanizes even the most transactional situations and a defensiveness that makes her dangerous when threatened, Anora, who goes by Ani, stands alongside the defiantly resilient protagonists of Baker’s last handful of films, from Starlet and Tangerine through The Florida Project and Red Rocket.
Ani...
- 5/21/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sean Baker returned to the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday with Anora, his New York-set romantic dramedy about a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms into a modern Cinderella when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch.
The film, playing in the official competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored an 10-minute ovation after the mid-afternoon world premiere screening wrapped at the Palais de Festivals.
The pic centers on Anora, who meets, falls in love with and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Complications most certainly arise when his parents find out and try to get the marriage annulled.
Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews
Better Things and Scream actress Mikey Madison plays the eponymous Anora alongside Yuriy Borisov, who previously appeared in Cannes pics Petrov’s Flu and Compartment No.6 both in 2021. The cast also includes Mark Eydelshteyn,...
The film, playing in the official competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored an 10-minute ovation after the mid-afternoon world premiere screening wrapped at the Palais de Festivals.
The pic centers on Anora, who meets, falls in love with and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Complications most certainly arise when his parents find out and try to get the marriage annulled.
Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews
Better Things and Scream actress Mikey Madison plays the eponymous Anora alongside Yuriy Borisov, who previously appeared in Cannes pics Petrov’s Flu and Compartment No.6 both in 2021. The cast also includes Mark Eydelshteyn,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Patrick Hipes and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Sean Baker’s previous film, 2022’s Red Rocket (2022), began with *Nsync’s Spotify-topping “Bye Bye Bye,” but Anora starts with the slightly lesser-known “Greatest Days” by British boy band Take That. Musically, it’s a bold choice, at odds with the frenetic spirit of what for over half its running time is a high-decibel screwball comedy that spends a lot of time in its establishing scenes in a New York strip joint.
The tentative nature of the lyric however — “This could be the greatest day of our lives” — is slyly indicative of where this modern Cinderella story is going, a film of three parts that accelerates at speed, cruises at high altitude for a surprisingly long time, then comes back down to earth with a deeply affecting and almost unbearably melancholy coda that sends the audience out in silence.
The opening suggests a sister piece to Baker’s 2012 film Starlet,...
The tentative nature of the lyric however — “This could be the greatest day of our lives” — is slyly indicative of where this modern Cinderella story is going, a film of three parts that accelerates at speed, cruises at high altitude for a surprisingly long time, then comes back down to earth with a deeply affecting and almost unbearably melancholy coda that sends the audience out in silence.
The opening suggests a sister piece to Baker’s 2012 film Starlet,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
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 Cannes Film Festival with a 7.5-minute standing ovation on Tuesday.
As the crowd applauded, the indie maverick director and Cannes darling said into the microphone, “Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for making dreams come true … And also thank you to all of you for coming out and seeing our film on the best screen in the world. Long live cinema!”
The ovation wasn’t the only chance for applause — the audience erupted into cheers numerous times during the two-hour film, including on several occasions during one wild scene in which the oligarch’s associates raid his son’s mansion.
In the film, Mikey Madison plays Anora, a 23-year-old working at a strip club outside of New York City. Her luck changes when she...
As the crowd applauded, the indie maverick director and Cannes darling said into the microphone, “Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for making dreams come true … And also thank you to all of you for coming out and seeing our film on the best screen in the world. Long live cinema!”
The ovation wasn’t the only chance for applause — the audience erupted into cheers numerous times during the two-hour film, including on several occasions during one wild scene in which the oligarch’s associates raid his son’s mansion.
In the film, Mikey Madison plays Anora, a 23-year-old working at a strip club outside of New York City. Her luck changes when she...
- 5/21/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Baker is officially returning to Cannes with his new rom-com “Anora.”
While the plot details remain under wraps, the feature is billed as an adventure rom-com, with the first look image showing a neon-lit club scene. Baker writes and directs the feature, which will debut at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The cast includes Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karen Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan. Drew Daniels served as director of photography and shot the feature on 35mm film. The feature was filmed in Brooklyn and will be released by Neon later this year.
“Making an independent film is never easy no matter how many you have under your belt!” Baker said in a 2023 press statement (via Variety). “I feel so fortunate to have been given the resources and support to fulfill my vision in an uncompromised way. Thank you to my collaborators including Glen Basner and the FilmNation team,...
While the plot details remain under wraps, the feature is billed as an adventure rom-com, with the first look image showing a neon-lit club scene. Baker writes and directs the feature, which will debut at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The cast includes Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karen Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan. Drew Daniels served as director of photography and shot the feature on 35mm film. The feature was filmed in Brooklyn and will be released by Neon later this year.
“Making an independent film is never easy no matter how many you have under your belt!” Baker said in a 2023 press statement (via Variety). “I feel so fortunate to have been given the resources and support to fulfill my vision in an uncompromised way. Thank you to my collaborators including Glen Basner and the FilmNation team,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
2023 may not have been an excellent year for movies, but in spite of everything stacked against it (read: greedy conglomerates run amok), it turned out to be an excellent year of movies. While the fallout of the recent work stoppages will be felt for time to come, some of 2023’s losses will prove to be 2024’s gains, as much-anticipated but strike-delayed films like “Dune: Part Two,” “Drive-Away Dolls,” and Luca Guadagnino’s horny tennis drama “Challengers” have all secured fresh release dates in the first half of the new year.
Those titles will be joined by some of the most promising Hollywood blockbusters in recent memory, must-see work from some of the world’s greatest auteurs, and huge swings from essential artists ranging from new voices like Jane Schoenbrun (“I Saw the TV Glow”) and Duke Johnson (“The Actor”) to venerated masters like Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”) and Mike Leigh...
Those titles will be joined by some of the most promising Hollywood blockbusters in recent memory, must-see work from some of the world’s greatest auteurs, and huge swings from essential artists ranging from new voices like Jane Schoenbrun (“I Saw the TV Glow”) and Duke Johnson (“The Actor”) to venerated masters like Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”) and Mike Leigh...
- 12/29/2023
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
In what appears to be some pre-Cannes (and pre-Venice) shopping, while the early morning buzz had Neon landing Audrey Diwan’s (currently in production) Emmanuelle, we now learn that they secured Sean Baker’s eighth feature film currently in post, Anora. The distributor plan to launch the film in 2024 and all eyes are on a Cannes competition berth – where he premiered Red Rocket (read review) in 2021. Confirmed players on the romantic dramedy include Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan. This is rumored to be about a sex worker and is set in an upscale part of Brooklyn.…...
- 11/2/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
The plot of the romantic dramedy has not been revealed.
Neon has acquired the North American rights to Anora, the upcoming romantic dramedy from writer-director Sean Baker.
FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights to the film and has licensed the project to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.
Neon is planning a 2024 theatrical release for the film, whose plot has not been revealed. The project shot on location in Brooklyn earlier this year and is currently in post-production. Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn,...
Neon has acquired the North American rights to Anora, the upcoming romantic dramedy from writer-director Sean Baker.
FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights to the film and has licensed the project to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.
Neon is planning a 2024 theatrical release for the film, whose plot has not been revealed. The project shot on location in Brooklyn earlier this year and is currently in post-production. Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn,...
- 11/2/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Neon has acquired North American rights to the romantic dramedy Anora, the latest feature from award-winning indie filmmaker Sean Baker (The Florida Project). It will be released in theaters sometime next year.
Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan star in the pic, shot on 35mm by DoP Drew Daniels, the synopsis for which remains under wraps. Samantha Quan, Alex Coco, and Baker served as producers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights, having already licensed to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.
News of the acquisition follows Neon’s announcement of They Follow, a sequel to David Robert Mitchell’s cult classic horror It Follows, on which Mitchell is set to reteam with star Maika Monroe. Neon will produce, distribute and handle international sales. Other titles on...
Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan star in the pic, shot on 35mm by DoP Drew Daniels, the synopsis for which remains under wraps. Samantha Quan, Alex Coco, and Baker served as producers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling worldwide rights, having already licensed to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.
News of the acquisition follows Neon’s announcement of They Follow, a sequel to David Robert Mitchell’s cult classic horror It Follows, on which Mitchell is set to reteam with star Maika Monroe. Neon will produce, distribute and handle international sales. Other titles on...
- 11/2/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon is getting in the Sean Baker business. The indie studio behind Parasite has taken North American rights to Baker’s romantic-dramedy Anora.
Mikey Madison stars in the film, which shot earlier this year in Brooklyn and is in post-production with an eye for a 2024 release. The plot is being kept under wraps, but Baker is known for crafting low-budget features examining people overlooked by society that emerge as critical hits and awards contenders. His filmography includes Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket, which he shot during the pandemic for around $1 million. Baker produced his latest film with Samantha Quan and Alex Coco, with Anora sporting a a slightly heftier budget than his previous features.
FilmNation has global rights to Anora, which also stars Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan. Neon VP of acquisitions Jason Wald negotiated the deal with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner.
Neon...
Mikey Madison stars in the film, which shot earlier this year in Brooklyn and is in post-production with an eye for a 2024 release. The plot is being kept under wraps, but Baker is known for crafting low-budget features examining people overlooked by society that emerge as critical hits and awards contenders. His filmography includes Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket, which he shot during the pandemic for around $1 million. Baker produced his latest film with Samantha Quan and Alex Coco, with Anora sporting a a slightly heftier budget than his previous features.
FilmNation has global rights to Anora, which also stars Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan. Neon VP of acquisitions Jason Wald negotiated the deal with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner.
Neon...
- 11/2/2023
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Neon has acquired the North American rights to Sean Baker’s latest film, “Anora,” starring Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan. The synopsis is being kept under wraps, but Neon is referring to it as a “romantic dramedy.” The movie was shot in 35 mm by cinematographer Drew Daniels with filming completed earlier this year; it is currently in post-production. It will be released in 2024.
“Anora” follows Baker’s 2021 film “Red Rocket,” which starred Simon Rex and premiered at Cannes and his 2017 film “The Florida Project,” which garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Willem Dafoe’s sensitive turn as the manager of a rundown Orlando motel. Both were released by A24.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s VP of Acquisitions Jason Wald with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling the worldwide rights, and...
“Anora” follows Baker’s 2021 film “Red Rocket,” which starred Simon Rex and premiered at Cannes and his 2017 film “The Florida Project,” which garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Willem Dafoe’s sensitive turn as the manager of a rundown Orlando motel. Both were released by A24.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s VP of Acquisitions Jason Wald with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling the worldwide rights, and...
- 11/2/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
FilmNation Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to Sean Baker’s new romantic dramedy film “Anora.”
Following the acquisition, FilmNation sold rights internationally to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features and Universal Pictures International in the rest of the world, excluding North America.
The film was written and directed by Baker, who is best known for directing “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project.” It shot on location at the beginning of the year in Brooklyn and stars Mikey Madison, who appeared as Manson Family follower Susan “Sadie” Atkins in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Plot details are being kept under wraps.
FilmNation previously worked with Baker on 2021’s critically heralded “Red Rocket.”
“Sean Baker is an American master unafraid to shine a light on the characters that have been left behind by American cinema,” said FilmNation CEO Glen Basner. “Working with Sean and his producers,...
Following the acquisition, FilmNation sold rights internationally to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features and Universal Pictures International in the rest of the world, excluding North America.
The film was written and directed by Baker, who is best known for directing “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project.” It shot on location at the beginning of the year in Brooklyn and stars Mikey Madison, who appeared as Manson Family follower Susan “Sadie” Atkins in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Plot details are being kept under wraps.
FilmNation previously worked with Baker on 2021’s critically heralded “Red Rocket.”
“Sean Baker is an American master unafraid to shine a light on the characters that have been left behind by American cinema,” said FilmNation CEO Glen Basner. “Working with Sean and his producers,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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