Oscar winner ‘Anora’: shot on ARRICAM, edited on Premiere Pro

2025 Best Picture winner Anora was one of the 50% of category nominees shot on ARRI kit, while it also won Adobe Premiere Pro its second editing Oscar in two years.

We’ve already talked about what a stellar 2025 Oscars ARRI has had when it comes to the Best Cinematography award this year, but it also managed to bag 5 out of 10 films nominated in the Best Picture category. 

This, of course, now includes the ultimate winner, the $6m indie movie Anora. It’s not the lowest budget movie ever to win an Oscar, that record is still held by Moonlight in 2017, which spent a mere $1.5m on its way to cinema screens, but it does feel part of a trend. Big budget movies win below the line, while the Academy nowadays likes to fete the more indie-oriented productions with its above the line awards. 

Anora, which signalled its intent by winning the Palme d’Or last year, was written, directed and edited by indie filmmaker Sean Baker.

As ARRI itself explains, it was shot by cinematographer Drew Daniels on ARRICAM LT 35 mm film cameras, framing in widescreen 2.40:1, 4-perf anamorphic, and utilizing vintage LOMO prime and zoom lenses, as well as Atlas Orion lenses for low-light scenes. “Daniels sought to pay homage to 1970s New York crime dramas by employing a visual style that blends classic elements with modern sophistication,” says the company. “His is a textured, authentic look that captures the gritty essence of Brooklyn’s neighborhoods, such as Brighton Beach and Coney Island.”

Premiere Pro wins again

Everything Everywhere All At Once won a stack of Oscars in 2023, including one for Best Editing. That was Adobe Premiere Pro’s first editing Oscar, and it’s now followed that up just two years later with its second.

Director Baker (who left Los Angeles with four awards in total on Sunday, tying the record for awards by one person with that set by a certain Walt Disney in 1954), is unusual in also cutting his own films. And his tool of choice for that is Premiere Pro.

“Adobe Premiere Pro has been a go-to tool for me because of its versatility and ability to handle everything from quick edits to detailed, complex sequences,” he commented. “For Anora, it was important for me to experiment freely while staying true to the story’s authenticity and Premiere Pro allowed me to do that." 

What price a third award for the software? Many will be watching to see what American indie cinema releases do well at this year’s Cannes Festival in May to try and get a steer on what is going to be honoured next year. It has after all, been a bit of a topsy-turvy awards season. Remember when Emilia Pérez gained headlines around the world for snagging so many nominations and excited writers started talking about it potentially breaking records? Well it almost did, though its 11 losses from 13 nominations, equalling the record of most defeats in one night, is probably not what they were thinking about at the time...