‘Anora’ dominates, winning 5 Oscars including best picture

The film is about is about an exotic dancer and sex worker who has the chance of a Cinderella story when she marries the son of a Russian oligarch.

The sex worker dramedy “Anora” dominated the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, winning best picture as well as several other top awards.

Sean Baker, the force behind “Anora,” won Oscars for directing as well as his original screenplay and editing. “I want to thank the sex worker community,” he said when accepting the screenwriting award. “My deepest respect. I share this with you.” Later, he dedicated his directing Oscar to his mother.

Mikey Madison, 25, won best actress for playing the film’s title role. “This is a dream come true,” she said.

“The Brutalist,” an immigrant epic, received three Oscars. Adrien Brody won best actor for his performance as a Holocaust survivor in the film, which was also honored for its cinematography and score. It was Brody’s second Oscar, having won in 2003 for playing a Holocaust survivor in “The Pianist.”

“I pray for a happier and healthier and more inclusive world,” Brody said in his acceptance speech, as he pushed past an attempt by the orchestra to play him offstage. “If the past can teach us anything, it’s a reminder to not let hate go unchecked.”

Wicked” won two Oscars (production design and costume design), as did the Netflix musical “Emilia Pérez” (song and supporting actress). “Dune: Part Two” also collected a pair (sound and visual effects).

Other awards went to “Conclave,” a winner for adapted screenplay. Kieran Culkin won best supporting actor for his performance in “A Real Pain,” about mismatched cousins on a trip to Poland. “Flow,” an independent Latvian movie about a courageous cat, beat “The Wild Robot” and “Inside Out 2” to win the Oscar for best animated film.

The ceremony began with a tribute to Hollywood’s home city of Los Angeles, parts of which were recently ravaged by wildfires, and Ariana Grande singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” That keep-the-faith “Wizard of Oz” standard gave way to a rousing rendition of “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked,” with Grande joined by her co-star Cynthia Erivo.

Here’s what else to know about the show:

<strong>— Supporting performances:</strong> Zoe Saldaña won the supporting actress Oscar for her performance in “Emilia Pérez,” while Kieran Culkin was honored for his supporting performance in “A Real Pain.” Both had faced grumbles of category fraud — that they really should have ran as leads.

— <b>Documentary winners: </b>“No Other Land,” about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, won best documentary. “We call on the world to take some action to stop the unjustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people,” Basel Andra, one of the film’s directors, said from the stage, introducing a strong dose of politics into a ceremony that had mostly avoided the topic. “The Only Girl in the Orchestra” won best documentary short.