A Love Letter to the Eccentric Beachside Brooklyn Neighborhood

Brighton Beach: A Post-Soviet Enclave

Take New York’s B train south to the end of the line and you’ll step into the post-Soviet enclave Brighton Beach, whose charms include vodka-soaked nightlife and a local uniform of fur and tracksuits. Transfer to the Q for a few more stops and you’re in Coney Island, Brighton Beach’s carnivalesque cousin with a 100-year-old wooden roller coaster and colourful boardwalk that forms the people’s playground.

The Film’s Setting

The eccentric, oceanside South Brooklyn neighborhoods play starring roles in the modern Cinderella romp “Anora” – an indie film that is tipped for success at the Oscars on Sunday. The movie showcases areas that feature less often on the lengthy filmography of a city well-accustomed to close-ups.

Brighton Beach’s Charms

Brighton Beach and Coney Island backdrop the chaotic overnight search for Ivan, a Russian oligarch’s son who flees his father’s blundering Eastern European henchmen after his whirlwind marriage to the film’s titular sex worker, Ani. Ani lives under the rumbling elevated train that snakes into Brighton Beach, which since the mid-1970s has been a haven to immigrants from Russia, Ukraine, and the Caucasus.

A Community Like No Other

It’s a community where pelmeni and vareniki dumplings are menu standards, and savvy shoppers can scoop caviar for a steal. Director Sean Baker “really wanted to sort of uncover this microcosm of a world that still exists there… this neighbourhood of people that speaks a certain language and has a certain culture that they preserved,” the film’s locations manager Ross Brodar told AFP.

A Love Letter

Part of Brighton Beach’s charisma stems from its aura of grumpiness – residents tolerate outsiders, but earning the trust to shoot a film is no small feat. To secure locations, Brodar worked with a Russian-speaking fixer to forge relationships with local business owners. He said he wanted to show them “I wasn’t trying to exploit the situation, I was trying to bring something to it.” “One of my big taglines was, ‘This is a love letter to Brighton Beach.'”

Authenticity

Just over the border of Brighton Beach in Coney Island stands a billboard from the film’s team thanking the community for allowing them in. A stone’s throw away sits William’s Candy, a more than 80-year-old shop whose windows entice shoppers with cotton candy and just about every treat imaginable coated in chocolate. The colourful store appears in the film, including in an infamous scene where Borisov’s character Igor smashes it up, sending gumballs flying.

Conclusion

The film, which has already won the Cannes festival’s Palme d’Or and a smattering of prizes from Hollywood’s directors, producers, writers, and critics, has already achieved a level of global success that Brodar hadn’t envisioned. “I knew it was special,” he said. “The cast was so unique, and it was funny as hell.” “There was a lot of love that went into making that movie.”

FAQs

* What is the film “Anora” about?
The movie is a modern Cinderella romp about a Russian oligarch’s son who flees his father’s blundering Eastern European henchmen after his whirlwind marriage to a sex worker.
* Where was the film shot?
The film was shot in the Brighton Beach and Coney Island neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York.
* What is the film’s setting?
The film is set in the post-Soviet enclave of Brighton Beach, which has a unique culture and community.
* Who is the director of the film?
The director of the film is Sean Baker.