Picture a fight for survival: a David vs. Goliath story as a battle for relevance. Indie films are in a war with major motion pictures, struggling to stay afloat as they are constantly outshined by their larger counterparts. For years, big budget movies have trounced indies, whether it’s in numbers at the cinema, or in awards at the Oscars. When all people do is talk about Captain America or how terrible Star Wars sequels are, no one discusses the quality pushed out each year by indie films.
This premise brings us to the 2025 Oscars, where “Anora,” directed by Sean Baker, won best picture, marking the first time an indie film won out since 2017 with Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight.” Anora’s victory brought tons of controversy, with tons of people, me included, claiming it was nowhere near the best film of the year. With devastating films like “The Brutalist” by Brady Corbet and Denis Villeneuve’s beautiful “Dune: Part Two,” it seemed impossible for “Anora” to sneak by.
Honestly, I had to look past my personal love for “Dune: Part Two” to really understand what this victory gives to Hollywood. “Anora” is Sean Baker’s sarcastic and witty homage to a Cinderella story. It tells the story of a young woman working a questionable job until she meets her Prince Charming, a skinny son of a Russian oligarch. The premise, while enjoyable, didn’t scream movie of the year to me on first watch. While Sean Baker’s filmmaking was impressive, it paled in comparison to the magnitude of the other films in contention.
Where “Anora” did shine was in its cinematography, with brilliant hues shining across the screen, and an excellent use of music. Even then, these positives would not out shine the brilliant films it was competing with. However, “Anora”‘s victory is not just about the film; rather, it’s what the film represents. We are fast approaching a time when you need a big budget to be a true success, where you need to put millions into production and choreography to make a masterpiece. This would mark the death of Indie films, sentencing them to be acknowledged only by girls with bangs on Letterboxd, while only the biggest directors, with astonishing budgets, can shine.
“Anora’s” victory marks a blow against that fate, demonstrating how indie films are not dying gently, but will continue to prove that they deserve the limelight too. Indie films are how new directors can grow—gaining fame and honing their craft, thus they must remain, so cinema can thrive in the future. Indie films like “Anora” also give you something new, a departure from the magnitude of Disney or HBO, without a genuine drop in quality. There’s something beautiful in the craft of a truly independent project, a beauty that, thanks to “Anora,” can continue.
