'Anora' Sparks Outrage Again — Inside the Union Controversy That's Raising Eyebrows
Rumor has it 'Anora' started out as a non-union shoot with poor conditions.
Published March 4 2025, 4:51 p.m. ET
Following its big night at the 2025 Oscars, Anora has become the talk of the town! While many cinephiles continue to rave about the acclaimed film, other movie fans are turning their attention to the controversies that have been swirling around it.
The latest issue to emerge? An alleged controversy over union involvement and labor rights. Here's everything you need to know about what's really going on.
Here's what you should know about the union controversy surrounding 'Anora.'
On Tuesday, March 4, Crew Stories (@crewstoriesig), an Instagram account where filmmakers can share their experiences and memories, shared a post accusing Anora writer-director Sean Baker of mistreating the film's crew. The post went as far as to claim that the Oscar-winning filmmaker avoided unionizing the crew.
"I love Anora the movie a lot, like Sean Baker as a filmmaker, and love Drew Daniels the DP, but the way Baker was able to make Anora for $6 million in NYC was in considerable part by screwing over his crew and lying to their representatives," read a screenshot of a message posted by Crew Stories.
The report noted that it's almost "unheard of and unfathomable" for a film with a budget of over $3 million to go non-union in New York City.
While the beloved independent film was signed with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) to protect the cast and director, Sean Baker allegedly avoided working with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union that represents the crew.
According to the post, Sean Baker reportedly hid details from IATSE and fought against them once the issue was discovered.
The claim suggests this was done to prevent the crew from receiving the same protections and fair wages that are standard for unionized productions, particularly for a project with a budget of this size in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
One of the most troubling aspects was that this alleged decision left the Anora crew without health insurance. Since union work is required to maintain health coverage, crew members were reportedly at risk of losing their insurance for the year.
Eventually, the crew allegedly reported the issue to the union and voted unanimously to flip the show. This meant that halfway through production, the film had to sign with IATSE or face being shut down, ensuring the crew got their health insurance through collective action.
However, the post claimed that Sean Baker became very upset about this and distanced himself from those who fought to protect their healthcare —something that's typically standard practice even on films with half the budget of Anora.
The post concluded by pointing out that as a filmmaker known for making films about marginalized communities and working-class struggles, the actions attributed to Sean Baker seemed hypocritical and disingenuous, rather than worthy of praise.
It's worth noting that none of this has been confirmed by a verified source, and it remains speculative at this time. That said, it doesn't reflect well at all, especially with the several other controversies already surrounding the film.