Sean Baker made Oscar history on Sunday, March 2nd, where he won four Oscars for the same film “Anora.”
He is a man of many talents: filmmaker, writer, editor, director, and producer of independent movies.
Baker won for “Best Picture,” “Best Director,” “Best Film Editing,” and “Best Original Screenplay.”
In addition, his lead actress Mikey Madison took home the “Best Actress” Oscar for her acting work in the film, thus bringing the movie’s Academy Award wins to a total of five.
In doing so, Baker tied Walt Disney’s record as the second person to win four Oscars in one night, but Disney won his for four separate projects back in 1954.
The synopsis is: Mikey Madison plays Ani, a young sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Vanya, the impetuous son of a Russian oligarch.
When Vanya’s parents catch wind of the union, they send their henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a wild chase through the streets of New York.
After Baker accepted his record-breaking four Oscars, he spoke with members of the media at the Oscars Press Room.
Sean Baker on how social realism has influenced his work
“Social realism has been a genre that has very much inspired my work, from the wonderful Lino Brocka to the British social realism,” he said.
Baker continued, “With this film we were, we were definitely infusing some social realism in there, but we were trying to mix it up as well. You know, we were actually kind of genre hopping in many ways, but I think social realism really focuses on the truth, and that is what is so important.
“It often uses character studies, sometimes issue-based, and it’s really, shining a light on subjects that should be spoken about,” he added.
Sean Baker on the Academy recognizing independent films this year
This year, the “Best Picture” Oscar winner (“Anora”) and the “Animated Feature Film” winner (“Flow”) were both independent films.
Baker continued, “It just really feels wonderful that the Academy is recognizing independent film. In many ways, we always jump into these projects knowing we will have to compete with budgets and film that have budgets that are literally almost 100 times what we are, and what we’ve shot our film for.”
“When we are actually able to do that, get into the same room as other films such as ‘Wicked,’ a wonderful movie, but a totally different type of a film from ours. It means that we’re doing something right,” he elaborated.
“It has been a great tradition over the last few years of of independent films being recognized and this batch this year is so wonderful. I mean, we feel very aligned
with, filmmakers of ‘The Brutalist’ for example. You know… Brady [Corbet] and Mona [Fastvold].”
“We feel very aligned with the way that they are making movies and we’re very inspired by them,” he acknowledged.
“So, for us to be, just in that conversation this year with these other wonderful independents, it means everything,” he expressed.
Sean Baker on the necessity of independent films
Baker shared his thoughts on the necessity of independent films and how the indie community has supported him and his movies through their life in theaters and on 35 millimeters, and into their second life on physical media.
“I would like to mention Film Independent, which has been an incredible supporter of my entire career,” he noted. “Also, all the wonderful film festivals around the world, that’s how you birth an independent film, and that’s how you bring it out into the world.”
“There are passionate people out there, and there are so many incredible films from our past… being restored and being put being released, re-released on Blu-ray and 4K, and that’s an incredible thing for cinephiles these days. We’re living in a golden age,” he elaborated.
Sean Baker on his Oscar wins feeling like a culmination of his work in many ways
“It does feel like a culmination in many ways,” he admitted. “I’ve been covering,
the topic of sex work in my last four films.
“I think that it was actually, the research I had done on those films and just those films teaching me, that eventually led to “Anora,’ and ‘Anora’ is where I was going to with these movies,” he elaborated.
Sean Baker shares his message for those that judge and criticize the sex workers, and what he learned from this movie
For those that judge and criticize the sex workers, Baker stated, “I have been pretty outspoken about my stance on sex work. It’s our oldest ‘profession,’ yet it has an incredible, unfair stigma applies to it.”
“What I’ve been trying to do with my films is sort of chip away at that very unfair stigma,” he noted.
“Personally, I think it should be decriminalized and I guess through my work,
through hopefully humanizing my characters that are usually seen as perhaps caricatures in most film and television, it will help do that. Thank you,” he concluded.
Please Note: This journalist was credentialed for the 2025 Academy Awards, and participated in the Press Room interviews with the 2025 Oscar winners following their wins.
