Cannes entry 'Anora' aims to destigmatize sex work, says director (updated)
22/05/2024 13:57
(Adds quotes in paragraphs 3, 11-12)
By Miranda Murray and Alicia Powell
CANNES, France, May 22 (Reuters) - Part of director Sean
Baker's aim in making "Anora," a darkly funny and touching drama
about a young exotic dancer who becomes involved with a Russian
oligarch's son, was to remove the stigma surrounding sex work,
he said on Wednesday.
"It's important to explore what sex work is in the modern
age," Baker told journalists at the Cannes Film Festival, where
the competition film premiered on Tuesday. "It's a career and
job that should be respected."
Sex work should be decriminalized and not regulated as
"it is a sex worker's body, and it is up to them to decide how
they will use it in their livelihood," he said.
"Anora" continues a streak of sex worker-focused films by
Baker, including the 2021 Cannes entry "Red Rocket" and 2017's
"The Florida Project," that he has no plans of stopping.
"We've already been talking about the next one, and it
involves a sex worker. So let's see what happens," he said.
"Anora" stars Mikey Madison as the titular character, who
meets Vanya, the immature son of a Russian oligarch with
seemingly unlimited money, while working at a strip club.
Vanya, played by Mark Eydelshteyn, hires Anora to be his
girlfriend for a week, deciding on a whim to take his private
plane to party in Las Vegas, where they get married. That
decision upsets his disapproving parents so much that they jet
over from Russia to ensure he gets an annulment.
Reviews were positive, with The Guardian newspaper giving
the "stellar" film four out of five stars and The Hollywood
Reporter calling it "a very satisfying watch, deftly commenting
on questions of class, privilege and the wealth divide."
Shooting the sex scenes was a collaborative process that
involved the actors' input, said Madison, who opted not to use
an intimacy coordinator or bring in a stunt double.
"We spoke about the sex scenes a lot because in the script
you would say they have sex. And so we're like, okay, well what
would that look like?" said Madison, recalling that Baker and
his wife and producer Samantha Quan would demonstrate for them.
"Those scenes were fun to shoot and all of the lap dance
scenes were very fun to shoot as well," said Madison, who read
books by sex workers and spoke to exotic dancers in New York to
prepare for the role that is "completely different from me."
Baker said he would support an actor's decision to use an
intimacy coordinator - who helps choreograph TV and movie scenes
involving sex or nudity and ensures actors are not exploited.
"Our number one priority is to keep our actors safe,
protected, comfortable, and involved in the process," he said.
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Anora’ Review: Mikey Madison is a Delightfully Scrappy Force in
Sean Baker’s Cracked Cinderella Story https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/anora-review-mikey-madison-sean-baker-1235905037/
Anora review – stellar turn from Mikey Madison in sex work
non-love story https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/21/anora-review-stellar-turn-from-mikey-madison-in-sex-work-non-love-story
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(Reporting by Miranda Murray
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
((Miranda.Murray@thomsonreuters.com;))