Oscar favorite ‘Anora’ wins best film and actor at the Independent Spirit Awards

By LINDSEY BAHR

Sean Baker’s “Anora” won best film, best director and best actor for Mikey Madison at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in what could be a preview of next Sunday’s Oscars.

The film about a Brooklyn sex worker and her whirlwind affair with a Russian oligarch’s son has emerged in recent weeks as an awards season front-runner.

The Spirit Awards, held in a beachside tent in Santa Monica, is the shaggier, more irreverent sister to the Academy Awards, celebrating the best in independent film and television.

Host Aidy Bryant called it “Hollywood’s third or fourth biggest night.”

In accepting the directing prize, Baker spoke passionately about the difficulty of making independent films in an industry that is no longer able to fund riskier films. He said indies are in danger of becoming calling card films — movies made only as a means to get hired for bigger projects.

“The system has to change because this is simply unsustainable,” Baker said to enthusiastic applause. “We shouldn’t be barely getting by.”

The best film competition included Jane Schoenbrun’s psychological horror “I Saw the TV Glow,” RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s “Nickel Boys,” Greg Kwedar’s incarceration drama “Sing Sing” and Coralie Fargeat’s body horror “The Substance.”

This year had several other possible Oscar winners celebrating. Kieran Culkin, considered an Oscar favorite, won the supporting performance award for “A Real Pain.” His director, co-star and writer Jesse Eisenberg won best screenplay for the film about two cousins embarking on a Holocaust tour in Poland.

Acting categories for the Spirit Awards are gender neutral and include 10 spots each, meaning Madison was up against Oscar nominees like Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) and Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”).

“Flow,” the wordless animated Latvian cat film, won best international film. At the Oscars, it’s competing in the international film category and animation.

While the Spirit Award winners don’t always sync up with the academy, they can often reflect a growing consensus as in the “Everything Everywhere All At Once” year. The awards limit eligibility to productions with budgets of $30 million or less, meaning more expensive Oscar nominees like “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two” were not in the running.

The winners in major categories:

Best feature: Anora

Best first feature: Didi

Best director: Sean Baker, Anora

Best screenplay: Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain

Best first screenplay: Sean Wang, Didi

Best lead performance in a film: Mikey Madison, Anora

Best supporting performance in a film: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Best breakthrough performance in a film: Maisy Stella, My Old Ass

Best documentary: No Other Land

Best international film: Flow

The Robert Altman Award (for best ensemble): His Three Daughters

Best new scripted series: Shōgun

Best lead performance in a new scripted series: Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer

Best supporting performance in a new scripted series: Nava Mau, Baby Reindeer

Best breakthrough performance in a new scripted series: Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer

Best ensemble cast in a new scripted series: How To Die Alone