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Erotic dancer comedy-drama wins top prize at Cannes

US director Sean Baker poses after winning the Palme d'Or for the film "Anora" during the Closing Ceremony at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 25, 2024


A tiny movie distributor founded seven years ago won at the Cannes Film Festival for a stunning fifth consecutive time on Saturday.

Neon, a New York-based indie movie outfit, has been dubbed "the Palme d'Or whisperer", for a track record that turns the world's most powerful movie producers green with envy.

"Parasite", "Titane", "Triangle of Sadness" and "Anatomy of a Fall", the last four winners in Cannes, were all released in US theatres by Neon, under deals struck before they won the prize.

And they did it again on Saturday with "Anora", US indie director Sean Baker's raw and often-hilarious story about a New York erotic dancer who strikes gold with a wealthy client.

ANORA

"Anora", an explicit and often hilarious story about a New York erotic dancer, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, which also saw a first-ever win for a trans actress.

Director Sean Baker was confirmed as one of the leading voices of American indie cinema with the prize, which also promises to make a star of 25-year-old Mikey Madison.

She plays a dancer who strikes gold with a wealthy client, only to face the wrath of his Russian oligarch parents.

As head of the jury, "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig praised "Anora" as an "incredible, human and humane film that captured our hearts".

 Neon founder Tom Quinn

Quinn had spent decades working in indie films with producers including Harvey Weinstein, before deciding to branch out.

In 2016, he struck a deal with China's Sparkle Roll Media, fronted by screen legend Jackie Chan.

Their first film was "Colossal", an oddball sci-fi starring Anne Hathaway.

Neon was officially launched the following year. Critical success soon came with the ice-skating comedy "I, Tonya", which won an Oscar for star Allison Janney.

Following the election of Donald Trump as United States president, Chinese investors swiftly departed, replaced by Texas billionaire Dan Friedkin.

But film-buying remained in the hands of Quinn, who had worked for years on multiple films with South Korean director Bong Joon-ho.

"It didn't matter what he was going to do next, it was going to be a Neon film," Quinn said in a recent interview.

"We were going to go for broke, and pre-buy it," he told "The Town" podcast.

That film turned out to be "Parasite", the stunning, genre-hopping drama about a poor family infiltrating a rich family's home, which became a sensation.

Not only did it win the Palme d'Or in 2019, but became the first non-English-language film to win best picture at the Oscars.

Since then, Cannes has proven to be a happy hunting ground for Neon, which has grown to around 55 staff.

Neon bought body horror "Titane" almost two years before it won the 2021 Palme d'Or.

And the company won bidding wars for both "Triangle of Sadness" and "Anatomy of a Fall" immediately following their Cannes premieres, but before the prizes were unveiled.

Named after an ephemeral gas that glows when captured inside a glass tube, the company caught lightning in a bottle again Saturday.

© Agence France-Presse