"Anora," a darkly funny and touching drama about a young dancer who becomes involved with a Russian oligarch's son, won the Cannes Film Festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, Saturday. The film by US director Sean Baker beat the 21 other films in the competition line-up, including entries by established directors like Francis Ford Coppola and David Cronenberg. In Anora, Mikey Madison plays the character of the title, who meets Vanya, the immature son of a Russian oligarch with seemingly unlimited money.
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.
Director Sean Baker, Palme d'Or award winner for the film "Anora", poses with Vache Tovmasyan, Samantha Quan, Mikey Madison, Alex Coco and Karren Karagulian during a photocall after the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on Saturday. REUTERS
