LOS ANGELES, March 2 (Reuters) - The 97th Academy Awards

marked a celebration of independent film, with Neon's "Anora"

claiming five Oscars, including for best film, lead actress and

director.

Director Sean Baker's movie about an exotic dancer and sex

worker who has the chance of a Cinderella story when she marries

the son of a Russian oligarch, received broad critical acclaim

-- but modest box office success.

Its 25-year-old star, Mikey Madison, scored an upset victory

for best actress over sentimental favorite Demi Moore, who

received a Screen Actors Guild award for her portrayal as an

aging television star who finds a potion that can make her look

younger in "The Substance."

Another independent darling, A24, collected a trio of

Academy Awards for "The Brutalist," including best actor for

Adrien Brody for his portrayal of a Hungarian-Jewish architect

rebuilding his life in America after the Holocaust.

The independent films triumphed over more broadly popular

films, such as Universal Pictures' "Wicked" and Warner Bros'

"Dune: Part Two," which were acknowledged for technical

achievement, such as costume and production design and visual

effects.

"We always jump into these projects knowing we will have to

compete with films that have budgets almost 100 times what we

shot our film for," Baker told reporters after the Oscar

ceremony. "When we're actually able to do that, get into the

same room as films such as 'Wicked,' it means we're doing

something right."

Latvian independent film "Flow," a wordless animated film

which follows a cat and other animals that band together after

losing their homes in a flood, received the Oscar for best

animated picture -- besting Pixar Animation's blockbuster

"Inside Out 2" and DreamWorks' "Wild Robot."

Netflix ( NFLX ), which led the Oscar nominations, collected

three awards, including best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña

in "Emilia Perez."

Baker, in accepting multiple Oscars, implored fans to go to

the cinema to support movies, especially independent theaters.