By Dawn Chmielewski

LOS ANGELES, March 2 (Reuters) - Filmmaker Sean Baker won the Academy Award for best director for "Anora," a film about an exotic dancer and sex worker who has the chance of a Cinderella story when she marries the son of a Russian oligarch.

Baker had been favored to win the directing award, having collected top honors from the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America, and the directing award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

The filmmaker's first breakout project was "Tangerine," a comedy about a transgender sex worker in Los Angeles that was shot on an iPhone. His next film, "The Florida Project," focused on the plight of families living in poverty near Walt Disney World and told the story of a single mother and the manager of a roadside motel who seek to protect a six-year-old girl's innocence.

Baker's next film, "Red Rocket," follows a washed-up porn star to Texas. His most recent film, "Anora," dubbed a "bawdy modern fable" by one reviewer, received a total of six nominations, including for best picture.

Also nominated in the directing category were Brady Corbet for "The Brutalist," James Mangold for "A Complete Unknown," Jacques Audiard for "Emilia Perez" and Kontol Coralie Fargeat for "The Substance." (Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Howard Goller) Keywords: AWARDS OSCARS/DIRECTOR