by Abb Jones
The Reelness

Anora, the romantic dramedy about a Brookyln sex worker who marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch only to have her Pretty Woman fantasy ruined by his parents, has won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

The win by writer/director Sean Baker (Red Rocket, The Florida Project), marks the fifth straight Palme d’Or won by an independent film, following Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness and last year’s winner, Anatomy of a Fall.

While it arguably was the most acclaimed film of the festival, Anora‘s win was a slight surprise over the Indian drama All We Imagine As Light and the Iranian film The Seed of the Sacred Fig, both of which won other prizes at Cannes.

Coralie Fargeat’s grisly body horror The Substance, starring Demi Moore as a fading Hollywood actress who goes to gory extremes to remain youthful, won best screenplay.