Award-winning studio NEON has acquired the North American rights to award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker’s new romantic dramedy Anora. Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan star in the feature produced by Samantha Quan, Alex Coco and Baker. Drew Daniels served as director of photography and shot the film on 35mm. The film shot at the beginning of the year on location in Brooklyn and is currently in post-production, with NEON planning a theatrical release in 2024.

 While the film’s synopsis is currently under wraps, Anora is the eighth writing and directing endeavor for Baker, and his follow up to his 2021 critically acclaimed dark comedy, Red Rocket, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and starred Simon Rex. His previous film, The Florida Project (2017), premiered in the Director’s Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim. The film scored an Academy Award® nomination for Willem Dafoe for Best Supporting Actor, and Baker was named Best Director by the New York Film Critics Circle. Additional titles of Baker’s include Tangerine (2015), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won an Independent Spirit and two Gotham Awards; Starlet (2012), which the Robert Altman Independent Spirit Award; and Prince of Broadway (2008) and Take Out (2004), both of which were nominated for the John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award. 

 The deal was negotiated by NEON’s VP of Acquisitions Jason Wald with FilmNation’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers. FilmNation Entertainment is handling the worldwide rights, and has licensed rights internationally to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world.