‘Anora’ Trailer: Cannes Film Festival Winner Follows Wild Love Story Between A Stripper And A Russian Oligarch’s Son

Mikey Madison stars as an Uzbek-American stripper who elopes with the young son of a rich Russian oligarch.

Maxim Staff

Jul 16, 2024

The official Red Band trailer for Anora—which won the prestigious Palme d’Or prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival—is finally here.

Director Sean Baker’s acclaimed dramedy about the raucous love story between a sex worker and the wealthy young son of a Russian oligarch follows Anora (Mikey Madison), an Uzbek-American stripper whose boss sets her up with Russian-speaking clients. One night, she meets Vanya (Mark Eidelstein), who pays her to be his girlfriend for the week. But things go haywire after the couple elope and Vanya’s parents find out.

Anora premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May to a seven-minute standing ovation and lavish critical acclaim. Variety called the indie sensation 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 signature Palme d’Or award for best film.

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During a Cannes press conference for the film, Baker—who also directed the edgy indies Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket—said he makes films about sex workers in hopes of “helping remove the stigma.”

“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 hits theaters on October 18. Watch the trailer below.