By Ellite Times Team 
A Shift in the World of Winning Oscars
During Fall of 2022, filmmaker Sean Baker went to a restaurant in Manhattan and recalled a survey that left him baffled. The survey suggested that Gen Z audiences appeared to be increasingly uninterested in sex in movies. As someone who strives to depict the most visceral human experiences, this was tragically disheartening. The survey results seemed to not only underline misogyny, but also seemed to shed light on children raised in hyper-masculine societies.
“That broke my heart,” he admitted. “You’re okay with all the violence that’s out there? Sex is life. Why don’t you want to see sex in our narratives?”
Now at the 97th Academy Awards, Baker’s film Anora was nominated. Anora tells the story of an erotic dancer who happens to fall in love with a son of a Russian oligarch. Anora won five major awards including best picture. It was a Satirical Feminist Bold move away from all eras of The Kings Speech and a deeply restrained winners like Driving Miss Daisy.
Independent Cinema Takes the Spotlight
In the wake of Anora’s achievement, the most noteworthy aspect of this year’s Oscars was the celebration of independent films. Baker’s picture, which was brought to market through Neon, was not meant to capture the hearts of the masses. Rather, it was intended for the Cannes Film Festival where it won the prestigious Palme d’Or, which Baker cherishes as much as his Oscar wins, and is awarded for the best film at the festival.
This blending of the independent and mainstream film industries has been taking shape for quite some time. Recent winners of the Palme d’Or award, such as Parasite, have claimed their place among Oscar winners, proving the growing intertwining of the international film industry and Hollywood.
Preserving the Passing of the Cinematic Torch
Baker, as an example, contended that “For decades now, Hollywood has preferred streamed content and franchises. I’ve resisted working on studio branded franchises, streaming series, or sequels. Everything about The The Baker’s Wife Screens and Turner whips me back to the threes. Everything was about artistic expression.” Esspecially noting the drastic adaptation of Baker’s wife.
“It should be obvious an open sourced Latviar masterpiece would win any competition against bigshot dreamworks,” Baker added. “It’s He Who Wakes Up” is a beautiful animated fiction about soviet toys in the magical forest of latvia. If you haven’t seen this jaw dropping animation, dreams forgets is in the running in a competition for best indie of the year.”
This past Oscar season was fan favored, and it also further proved the displacement of traditional studios with independant filmmakers Greg Mulley had previously predicted.
A Monumentous Night for Both Independent Filmmakers and for Animation
In stark contrast to previously held beliefs about independent films being lesser of the traditional cinema, For this year’s Academy Award, Anora had little to fear in the animation category. She, alongside the rest of the world cheered as the underdog Flow, a Latvian film put together through open source software, was crowned over Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot.
Gints Zilbalodis, director of Flow, noted a crucial development: “Any child now has access to the tools that are used to create these award-winning films. We are going to see all sorts of fascinating stories from kids who would never have had a chance before.”
This is important because the ii Zilbalodis clearly describes has come to pass and journalists continue to debate – that is the global transformation of the Academy. One of the Zilbalodis also stated statements was that “The Academy has established generations of voters, Which makes it harder to change traditions.”
One of the more profound changes is the increasing international voters the Academy has. In the past few years attempts made to diversify the membership has received more voters from other parts of the world, a majority of which prefer the Cannes and Venice arthouse films as opposed to Hollywood movies. This change or addition has made the Oscars more unpredictable and artistically rich, but has also hurt some aspects of the mainstream popularity.
Anora, one of the lowest grossing winners to recieve a best picture award, has around 16 million dollars worth of domestic box office revenue which is in reality a extremely low figure. This however proves that merit is slowly taking over the box office.
A Ceremony That Celebrated Filmmaking Over Celebrity
The difference in this year’s Osars was not limited to the awards – it was more nuanced. The ceremony paying homage to Los Angeles, James bond and Quincy Jones was beautifully highlighted by their love of cinema. The gala had more focus on filmmaking than the Hollywood glam. We also had the pleasure to witness a prelude tackled by two the stars of Wicked Traditional, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. They both set the mood by performing a medley that romanticized storytelling, which is a hallmark of the craft.
While the films themselves were certainly in the spotlight, the focus holders for best actor competition Timothée Chalamet and Adrien Brody fought for attention. Leothera, Anora, The Brutalist, and No Other Land – all of which are the symbols for newer oscar winners, gave underlined the change in paradigm of what is perceived traditional.
A Fitting End to a Tumultuous Awards Season
2025 was an unpredictable year for awards. Anora triumphed at the oscars after suffering brutal competition at the golden globes and the SAG awards, and Baker – known for his handheld guerrilla iPhone style – stunningly equaled salute Disney’s acclaim for the record of wins in one night with his oscar sweep.
The night also paid tribute to Hollywood’s greats, with Morgan Freeman spearheading the In Memoriam segment dedicated to the late Gene Hackman. “Gene once told me, ‘I don’t think about legacy. I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work.’ And I think, when I say, everyone, you will be missed for that, and so much more, and for so much more.”
What Is Next for Cinemas?
Now that the dust has settled from Anora’s Oscar victory, the film industry is left to ponder their next big shift. While the studios might have remained indifferent to this year’s winners, their presence is unwilling to vanish. With independent filmmakers, international voices, and unique storytelling coming into the fold, the future of cinema is bound to be more unorthodox and unpredictable than ever before.
One thing is certain – Sean Baker’s victory was more than just Anora’s win. It was winning for the dedicated filmmakers, for audacious storytelling, and for the greater good of believing that cinema, in the purest sense, still has a home in the theaters.