N.J.’s Sean Baker wins first Oscar for ‘Anora’ screenplay

“Anora,” a story about dizzying highs and despairing lows, has won the Oscar for best original screenplay.

The film follows a Brooklyn sex worker whose life changes after meeting the son of a Russian oligarch.

It’s a big win for writer-director Sean Baker, who hails from New Jersey.

The Oscar is the first of Baker’s career and his first win at the 2025 Academy Awards.

“I want to thank the sex worker community,” Baker said in his acceptance speech. “They’ve shared their stories, they have shared their life experience with me over the years. My deepest respect. Thank you, I share this with you.”

“Anora” brought home a total of five Oscars.

Baker went on to win the Oscar for best director Sunday, and star Mikey Madison won her first Academy Award for best actress before the movie won best picture.

The director, who also won for best editing, set a new Oscar record, becoming the first person in the history of the Academy Awards to win four Oscars for the same movie at one ceremony.

READ MORE: ‘Anora’ wins best picture at the Oscars, a huge victory for N.J.’s Sean Baker

The indie filmmaker from Jersey got the idea to set a film in the Russian American communities of Brighton Beach and Coney Island in Brooklyn years ago, when talking with his his longtime friend Karren Karagulian, who has been in every one of his films.

Baker, who was born in Summit and grew up in Short Hills and Branchburg, wrote the film for Madison.

She delivers a breakthrough performance as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, the Russian American sex worker in the film, which sizzles with comedy, tragedy and romance.

Russian actor Mark Eydelshteyn co-stars as the charming young Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov, the privileged son of the Russian oligarch who pops the question to Ani during a raucous trip to Las Vegas.

READ MORE: With ‘Anora,’ Sean Baker’s moment has arrived. N.J. director on the movie eyeing Oscar gold.

When Vanya’s parents discover their nuptials and the family fixer Toros (Karagulian) sends two hired muscles to break the couple up, everything begins to unravel. Vanya flees the scene as Ani is left to deal with the would-be tough guys, played by Vache Tovmasyan and Yura Borisov.

Despite their first encounter during a violent home invasion scene, Borisov’s character, Igor, makes a connection with Ani.

It turns out the Russian hired muscle has a heart.

“I was always setting up stereotypes then trying to shatter them,” Baker, 54, told NJ Advance Media in October as the film began to expand in theaters. “In Ani’s eyes ... we slowly get to see that, ‘oh, OK, maybe he’s not what we thought.’”

READ MORE: Sean Baker wins Oscar for best director for ‘Anora.’ Indie film champion is from N.J.

“Anora” was nominated for six Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards, including best picture, director (Baker), original screenplay (Baker), lead actress (Madison), supporting actor (Borisov) and editing (Baker).

All nominations were firsts for Baker and the cast, though this is not the first time Baker has written and directed a film about a sex worker.

His previous movies “Starlet” (2012), “Tangerine” (2015), “The Florida Project” (2017) and “Red Rocket” (2021) all humanize sex workers, centering them as lead characters in indie films.

While those films received critical praise and recognition at industry events like the Film Independent Spirit Awards, with “The Florida Project” drawing an Oscar nomination for Willem Dafoe, “Anora” is Baker’s first movie that has received broad support at the Oscars.

The film’s road to the Academy Awards started in May when “Anora” won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

“I always thought ‘Oh, OK, so we won the Palme d’Or. I can now just sleep nicely at night,’” Baker told NJ Advance Media last year with a laugh.

A few months later, his film was an Oscar frontrunner.

Baker went on to win best original screenplay for “Anora” at the Writers Guild Awards.

“Anora” also won best picture at the Critics Choice Awards and best feature, director and lead performance at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

At the BAFTAs, Madison won best actress and Baker and his wife and fellow producer, Samantha Quan, won best casting.

Baker won best feature film at the Directors Guild of America Awards, and outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures at the Producers Guild of America Awards alongside producers Quan and Alex Coco.

Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.