By Dawn Chmielewski

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.O, 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.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski, Editing by Nick Zieminski)

((Dawn.Chmielewski@thomsonreuters.com;))