The official character posters for Sean Baker’s Anora are out! Meet Ani, Vanya, Igor, Garnick, Toros and Diamond in these gorgeous new posters for the film!
If you’ve been paying attention to Neon’s socials, you must have noticed that the distributor has been posting a lot of gorgeous stills and videos of Sean Baker’s Anora! These past few days, the distributor shared all the official character posters for the Cannes-winning movie, introducing us to Ani, Vanya, Igor, Garnick, Toros and Diamond who each gets their own gorgeous poster to celebrate the film’s release. To make it easier for you to find them all, we’ve collected them in this article!
Meet Anora’s Characters: What the Movie is About
… But who are the main characters of Anora? This “tragedy from Sean Baker,” out now globally in theaters, is about the young woman from which the film takes its name, who goes by Ani (Mikey Madison) in the movie. Not long after we first meet her, at the upscale New York City strip club where she works, we witness her first meeting with the film’s second protagonist, Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn). “Vanya,” like his friends and family call him, is a wealthy 21-year-old Russian boy who comes to the club, gets a lap dance, and immediately falls in love with Ani. The latter, who is clearly attracted to the boy’s money, agrees to be Ivan’s “girlfriend for a week,” and a real connection starts to form between them.
And so, Ani waves her co-workers, including her best friend Lulu (Luna Sofia Miranda) and her rival Diamond (Lindsey Normington), goodbye. Soon, she and Vanya are planning their Vegas wedding and dreaming of a Disney World honeymoon. But Ani’s “Cinderella story” is short lived, as when Ivan’s parents hear of the news, they immediately send their “fixers” – Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and Igor (Yura Borisov) – to force them into an annulment. Needless to say, Ani and Ivan disagree, and what happens next is absolutely hilarious. But something happens that turns this comedy into a much different kind of movie – one that might even have you shed a few tears before the credits roll. Take a look at our article with Anora‘s ending and final scene explained to find out more!
Without further ado, here are the character posters for all the characters in the movie!
Diamond and Toros’ Character Posters
A fun detail about these character posters is that each has a slightly different caption at the top! Lindsey Normington plays Diamond, whose poster reads “a jelly tale from Sean Baker.” Ani’s co-worker has many iconic lines that mostly have to do with their hilarious rivalry. The women in this film – Ani, Diamond, Ani’s best friend Lulu, and a few more women who are best left unspoiled – are great examples of the beauty of Sean Baker’s writing, as the director uses them to make a point about friendships between women.
With Lulu, we get a healthy example of two women who are simply best friends, and whose conversations don’t need to revolve around men. With Diamond, Baker shows us the kind of rivalry workplaces such as the club where Anora works endorse. The paradox is that Diamond’s comments about Ani stem from a place of jealousy, but Ani’s situation is far from ideal. Still, Anora’s comebacks to Diamond are such a testament to how strong she is as a character.
Next is Toros, played by Armenian-American actor Karren Karagulian. Karagulian has been collaborating with Sean Baker ever since they first worked together on Four Letter Words (2000), and has since then appeared in every single one of his movies, including The Florida Project and Red Rocket, sometimes taking on some behind-the-scenes duties too. In Anora, Karagulian plays Ivan’s family main “fixer”.
We first meet him at a christening that he’s officiating, where he hilariously answers the phone. That’s when he finds out that the family needs help once again, which leads him to getting even more people involved and eventually leave the scene altogether. Toros might appear bossy and cold-hearted at first, but he’s the opposite. On top of being Vanya’s godfather, he is one of the few characters who can really see the big picture when it comes to his and Ani’s situation, and we can tell that he’s a good person.
Garnick and Igor’s Character Posters
Garnick, played by Vache Tovmasyan (Golden School, Stone Cage), is the man Toros goes to after he gets the phone call. He also happens to be Toros’s brother. In the film, he’s the first person who reaches Ivan’s house, upon Toros’s instructions: his orders are to keep Vanya and Ani there, and find out if they really did get married. But the task isn’t as easy as it sounds, and he soon finds himself fighting with one of them and chasing after the other, in an absurd, comedic journey that really gets us acquainted with the character.
Yura Borisov plays Igor, a character who’s initially referred to as “The Russian” and who doesn’t seem to belong to Toros and Garnick’s world. Initially instructed to prevent Ani from leaving, Igor really evolves throughout the film, making us feel so many different emotions even if he doesn’t have as many lines as his co-stars. Borisov does an amazing job in the film, and his turn as Igor might (and should) even get him a Best Supporting Actor nod this Awards season.
The Protagonists of Anora: Ani and Ivan’s Character Posters
It’s time to take a look at Ani and Ivan’s character posters! Mark Eydelshteyn plays Ivan/Vanya, someone you might think you have all figured out until he does something that turns him into a completely different kind of person. In the end, it all comes down to that “big picture” that some of the movie’s characters are all too painfully aware of, but even then, it’s hard not to find Vanya endearing. In the best Sean Baker tradition, you’ll develop real affection for the characters, despite his flaws. Don’t forget to take a look at the poster’s caption!
And finally, here’s Ani, played by the one and only Mikey Madison in the role that will confirm her as the superstar that she is. Madison is incredible in the movie, where we see her grow in unpredictable ways and only truly get to know her at the very end. Anora is one of those characters you’ll understand more and more on repeat watches, and Madison truly shines, demanding our attention in every single scene of this “Cinderella story from Sean Baker”.
Anora is out now in US theaters, in UK & Irish cinemas, and globally in theaters. Read our review of Anora and our ranking of all Sean Baker films, and watch the trailer below!
