'Anora' continues to sweep the awards leading up to the Oscars. Following its success at the Critics Choice Awards, the American director Sean Baker and the film have achieved two significant victories this Saturday by winning the top awards given by the Hollywood directors' and producers' guilds, gaining momentum in an unpredictable awards season that will culminate with the Oscars on March 2, as reported by Efe.
Baker's achievement adds to his surprising triumph at the Critics Choice Awards, where his film about a sex worker who impulsively marries a young Russian oligarch won the award for Best Picture, the most important of the night.
Baker won the award for Best Director of a Feature Film at the Directors Guild (DGA) awards ceremony, which is usually a good indicator for this category at the Hollywood Academy Awards. Since the creation of these awards in 1948, only on eight occasions has the DGA winner not won the Oscar for Best Director.
Additionally, 'Anora', which follows a sex worker who impulsively marries a young Russian oligarch, received the Darryl F. Zanuck award for Best Film Producer at the Producers Guild (PGA) awards also held this Saturday in Los Angeles.
Producer recognition is often a good indicator of the Oscar winner for Best Picture, the most prestigious award given by the Hollywood Academy.
'Anora' beat 'The Brutalist', 'A Complete Unknown', 'Conclave', 'Dune: Part Two', 'Emilia Pérez', 'The Substance', and 'Wicked' at the PGAs, which are also competing for the golden statuette for Best Picture to be awarded on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The other contenders were 'A Real Pain' and 'September 5', who were left out of the Oscar nominations in this category, and were replaced by the Brazilian film 'I'm Still Here' and 'Nickel Boys'.
In the animated feature film category at the PGAs, 'The Wild Robot' from DreamWorks prevailed over 'Flow', the Golden Globe winner and a strong contender this awards season.
In the television categories, the drama series 'Shogun' won the production award at the PGAs and the directing award at the DGAs, while the comedy 'Hacks' won in equivalent categories at both ceremonies.