New Jersey indie film auteur Sean Baker is now an Oscar-winning director.
Baker has centered most of his films around sex workers.
The movies have been well received, but none have reached the heights of “Anora,” his first movie to be nominated for best picture at the Oscars.
Now Baker has been anointed best director at the 2025 Academy Awards.
His win arrived just before his film also won best actress and best picture for a total of five Academy Awards. The awards haul made Baker the first person in Oscars history to win four awards for the same movie in a single ceremony.
“Anora,” starring newly minted first-time Oscar winner Mikey Madison as Brooklyn sex worker Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, is alternately thrilling, funny and tragic.
Ani’s life takes quite a turn when she meets Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov, the son of a Russian oligarch played by Mark Eydelshteyn.
The film, nominated for six Oscars including best picture, director, lead actress, supporting actor, original screenplay and editing, was written, directed and produced by Baker.
"Anora" stars Mikey Madison, right, and Mark Eydelshteyn. Neon
Baker won his first Oscar Sunday for best original screenplay for “Anora,” followed by best editing for the film.
Quentin Tarantino presented Baker with the award for best director.
“Quentin, if you didn’t cast Mikey Madison in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,’ there would be no ‘Anora,’” Baker told Tarantino.
Madison played Susan “Sadie” Atkins of the Manson family in the 2019 Tarantino film.
Baker also made an appeal to audiences to support local movie theaters and called on filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screen.
“We’re all here tonight and watching this broadcast because we love movies,” he said. “Where did we fall in love with movies? At the movie theater.”
With that, Baker drew a roar from the crowd.
“Watching a film in a theater with an audience is an experience,” he continued. “We can laugh together, cry together, scream and fright together, perhaps sit in devastated silence together. And in a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever. It’s a communal experience you simply don’t get at home. And right now the theatergoing experience is under threat.”
Baker, who was born in Summit and grew up in Short Hills and Branchburg, worked as a movie theater manager and projectionist as a teen.
“Movie theaters, especially independently owned theaters, are struggling and it’s up to us to support them,” Baker said in his speech. “During the pandemic, we’ve lost nearly 1,000 screens in the U.S. and we continue to lose them regularly. If we don’t reverse this trend, we’ll be losing a vital part of our culture. This is my battle cry.
“Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen,” he said. “I know I will. Distributors, please focus first and foremost on the theatrical releases of your films. Neon (the distributor of ”Anora”) did that for me and I think you from the bottom of my heart. Parents, introduce your children to feature films in movie theaters and you’ll be molding the next generation of movie lovers and filmmakers. And for all of us, when we can, please watch movies in the theater and let’s keep the great tradition of the moviegoing experience alive and well.”
Baker ended his speech with a mention of his mother, who introduced him to movies when he was 5 years old. Oscar Sunday happened to fall right on her birthday — along with the five wins for “Anora.”
Most of Baker's films center sex workers. Neon
“Happy birthday, Mom, I love you, thank you for everything,” he said. “This is for you.”
The Jersey director wrote the movie for Madison, who delivers a breakthrough performance in the movie and was recognized with a nomination at the Oscars alongside her co-star Yura Borisov, who plays hired muscle Igor in the film.
Baker filmed the movie in the Russian American communities of Brighton Beach and Coney Island in Brooklyn.
He has long sought to humanize sex workers in his work. His previous movies made in this spirit include “Starlet” (2012), ”Tangerine" (2015), “The Florida Project” (2017) and “Red Rocket” (2021).
Baker’s films have consistently won or been nominated at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, where “Anora” won best feature, director and lead performance. But before this movie, they never drew much Oscar recognition outside of a nomination for Willem Dafoe’s performance in “The Florida Project.”
Baker on the "Anora" set with Madison and Eydelshteyn. Neon
That began to change when “Anora” won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The win was huge for Baker, who made his feature directorial debut in 2000 and has consistently worked in indie film.
“I always thought ‘Oh, OK, so we won the Palme d’Or. I can now just sleep nicely at night,’” Baker, 54, told NJ Advance Media with a chuckle in October as “Anora” began to expand in theaters.
Less than three months later, Baker and “Anora” were awash in Oscar nominations — all firsts for Baker and the cast.
In the movie, Ani agrees to marry Vanya during a raucous trip to Las Vegas, but sees her Cinderella story deflate when his parents learn about the marriage.
“The one thing about the trope of living happily ever after is that you know that life isn’t ever that,” Baker told NJ Advance Media.
“There’s always the day after, there’s always the coming down ... no one’s life is devoid of hardships and speed bumps and everything. Even if you are living happily ever after, it’s never gonna be perfect. And so I think that’s what I wanted to show.”
Last month, Baker, calling himself an “indie film lifer,” made another impassioned speech at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, calling on film studios and Hollywood powerbrokers to support indie filmmakers.
The Jersey talent said current conditions in indie film are financially unsustainable, with directors going three years or more without much pay to make their movies.
Baker previously won best feature film at the Directors Guild of America Awards.
He also won best original screenplay at the Writers Guild Awards and outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures at the Producers Guild of America Awards alongside his fellow producers Samantha Quan, his wife, and Alex Coco.
“Anora” also won best picture at the Critics Choice Awards, while Madison won best actress and Quan and Baker won best casting at the BAFTAs.
“Anora,” rated R, runs 2 hours and 18 minutes and is available to watch on demand.
Stories by Amy Kuperinsky
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.