ANORA (Sean Baker) As we soak up the hype around this year's crop of Oscar nominees this weekend, one question hangs in the air. Could a $6 million comedy drama about a lap dancer facing the wrath of Russian oligarchs really be the slight favourite for Best Picture? Apparently so - although no-one can state with any conviction that 'Anora' or any of its big rivals will emerge triumphant at Sunday night's Academy Awards. On paper, Sean Baker's movie is an unlikely contender for Hollywood's most coveted prize, given that it's a low budget, indie comedy drama with a relatively unknown cast about a sex worker. 'Anora,' though, won this year's Producers Guild and Directors Guild awards as well as last year's Palme d'Or at Cannes and in a tight Oscar race, that has been enough to catapult it into the front rank of contenders alongside ' Conclave ' and 'The Brutalist'. In recent years, Academy voters have shown a willingness to...