On episode 256 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Josh Parham to discuss Sean Baker’s latest film, Anora, and discuss their favorite films to win the prestigious Palme d'Or award.

While we are coming towards the end of fall festival season, one of the hottest festival films of the year was the winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival back in May. Anora, written and directed by Sean Baker and starring Mikey Madison, has been the one of the most talked about films of the year, garnering praise from audiences around the world and setting itself up for a big run later this Oscar season. But just how good is the film? Ryan, Josh, and Dan breakdown Baker’s latest, what they think of the film overall, the performances, mild discussion on the film’s ending, and where they see its path in the Oscar race moving forward. Once they were done with that, they moved into a larger discussion over their favorite past winners of the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Palme d'Or. With some of the most influential, celebrated films of their respected years winning the award, the Palme d'Or is a signal for excellence in cinema. Some of the films discussed ranged from All That Jazz, Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction, The Piano, Brief Encounter, Blow Up, The Conversation, Parasite, Shoplifters, Barton Fink, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Tree of Life, and many more.

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This podcast runs 1h49m. We will be back next to do discuss the main trifecta of fall festivals - Telluride, Toronto and New York - then in two weeks for AFI FEST Film Festival and take a look at the Oscar race after each.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).