Award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker, who took home Best Picture and Best Director for his film “Anora,” expressed concern about the declining attendance at cinemas during his acceptance speech. “Anora,” which tells the story of a New York sex worker who gets a chance at a new life when she marries a wealthy Russian client, won five Academy Awards. Mikey Madison, the film’s 25-year-old star, was named Best Actress, while the film also earned awards for original screenplay and editing.

Baker used his platform to encourage filmmakers to keep creating projects for the big screen, lamenting the decline of the communal experience that watching movies in theaters provides. “In a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever,” he said.

The documentary “No Other Land,” which won an Oscar for Best Documentary, shed light on the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Directed by both Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, the documentary follows activist Basel Adra as he documents the destruction of his hometown and seeks to amplify his story with the help of a Jewish Israeli journalist.

No Other Land’s Israeli filmmaker, Yuval Abraham, used his acceptance speech to address the “atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people” and called on the Palestinian group Hamas to release all Israeli captives. Filmmaker Basel Adra, the Palestinian filmmaker, expressed hope that future generations of Palestinians won’t have to live in fear of violence, home demolitions, and forced displacement under Israeli occupation.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/3/anora-a-small-budget-film-about-prostitution-sweeps-top-oscar-awards?traffic_source=rss