“Anora” was named the best film of the year by Hollywood’s directors and producers on Saturday, cementing its new status as the film to beat at the upcoming Oscars. The black comedy from director Sean Baker, about an erotic dancer’s whirlwind romance gone wrong, picked up the prestigious Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America top awards, just a day after capturing the foremost US critics’ prize.

“My imposter syndrome is skyrocketing right now!” said Baker, a 53-year-old indie director, previously best known in arthouse circles for his empathetic portrayals of life in US subcultures, as he accepted his prize at a swanky Beverly Hills DGA gala. Baker thanked his producers for being “able to pull off a $6 million film, shot on film, in New York City in 2023 — almost impossible.” “Anora” won the Cannes film festival top prize Palme d’Or back in May, yet had more recently lagged behind other films including “Emilia Perez” in terms of Oscar nominations.

Besides Saturday’s coup, “Anora” also won best picture at the Critics Choice Awards on Friday, propelling it as a renewed favorite for the Academy Awards — which will take place on March 2. Accepting his prize from Christoper Nolan, last year’s DGA winner, Baker joked that campaigning for Hollywood’s seemingly never-ending awards season had made him feel like he was “actually doing work” for “the first time.”

“I’ve been able to play — and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world, being able to do the thing I’ve wanted to do since I was five years old,” said Baker. He also thanked his mother for supporting his career — but the director, whose films mainly center around sex work and pornography, admitted he was glad she had not seen his latest, somewhat graphic project. Nineteen of the past 21 DGA winners have gone on to also win the Oscar for best director that same year, including the last two winners — “Oppenheimer” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”

The DGA prize for best movie from a first-time filmmaker went to another Oscar best picture nominee, “Nickel Boys,” from RaMell Ross. Ross, whose film about abuses at a 1960s Florida reform school for juvenile boys — shot as if from the eyes of its characters — said it was too “rare” to see the Black gaze represented in Hollywood cinema. Meanwhile across town in Los Angeles Saturday, “Anora” also won the PGA top prize. — AFP