Palme d’Or-winning Anora Closes the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024

Anora, the critically acclaimed romantic comedy-drama and winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival made its South Asia debut as the closing film of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 (October 19-24th) on October 24th. Sean Baker’s directorial masterpiece with Universal Pictures (distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery), features a standout cast, including Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan. Following its enthusiastic reception at the festival’s closing ceremony, attended by [Jim Sarbh, Shakun Batra, Tillotama Shome, Ramesh Sippy and more], Anora is poised to captivate audiences worldwide.

Anora chronicles the story of Ani (Mikey Madison), a young Brooklyn exotic dancer who gets a chance at her own modern-day Cinderella story (with a twist) as she becomes romantically involved with Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian mafia boss. Their tumultuous relationship reaches its crescendo when the couple makes an impulsive decision to elope at a Las Vegas wedding chapel during a chaotic entourage trip. However, Ani’s fairytale is threatened when the parents race to New York to get the marriage annulled.

Mikey Madison, who brings Ani to life in the film, shared insights into the challenges she overcame during her preparation for the character, “I always saw Ani as this scrapper and a hustler,” states Madison, “I was excited to explore the harder sides to her, but also the different layers of who she is around other people. As a sex worker, Ani creates a persona when she’s with customers. I was interested in who she would be when she was alone or with her friends. And I wanted to play her as someone who’s not very self-aware, which in some ways is a protection.”

Speaking on the opportunity to have Anora as the closing film at this year’s MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Festival Director said, “We were delighted to have Sean Baker’s “Anora”, this year’s Palme d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival as the closing film at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival this year. There is always great anticipation amongst cinephiles for Sean Baker’s films as he is recognized as one of the most exciting names in independent cinema today. Given our festival’s commitment to celebrating cinematic excellence and independent cinema, we couldn’t have had a more fitting closing film than Anora. I am so happy that Warner Brothers Discovery will be releasing the film in cinemas across India so that those who missed the film at MAMI will get the opportunity to watch this not-to-be-missed film.”

Sean Baker is an award-winning writer, director, producer, and editor known for his remarkable contributions to independent cinema with eight feature films over the past two decades. His film The Florida Project premiered in the esteemed “Director’s Fortnight section” at the Cannes Film Festival. Among the many accolades the film received— including an Oscar nomination for Willem Dafoe for Best Supporting Actor—Sean was named Best Director by the New York Film Critics Circle. Baker’s Tangerine premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won an Independent Spirit Award and two Gotham Awards. He shares a meaningful connection with the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, having previously been on the jury of the Mumbai International Film Festival in 2018.

Fall in love with the romance and drama of Anora, available in theatres across India on November 8th, 2024!