To many people, it may seem like Sean Baker appeared out of nowhere last Sunday, however he has actually been quite prolific since his first film came out way back in 2000. You might be asking, ‘who is this guy?’ And if you follow the Oscars, you might be wondering why ‘this guy’ won four Oscars for his movie Anora. To answer these questions we’ll have to analyze Sean Baker’s career at large to see the man and legend who makes some of the most revered indie darling films in the business.

Sean Baker films are characterized by their incredibly grounded storylines with characters that feel like real human beings. Watching a Sean Baker movie makes you feel like you’re are watching a documentary because of how well he writes characters. Some of this comes from Baker’s unique approach to casting. Instead of hiring a casting director, Baker casts his own movies, often finding actors  before he even begins to write the screenplay for a project.This gives him the power to give lead roles to non actors. All of Baker’s movies are made up of a mix of professional actors and people who have never acted before. The non-actors he hires are people who have lived similar experiences to the characters he writes, leading their performances to feel as realistic as possible. For example, the mother in The Florida Project was an actual single mother combatting homelessness, who Baker discovered on TikTok of all places.

Baker also edits his own films. Most of Baker’s films include a lot of heavily improvised scenes, an approach that would be impossible to pull off if he didn’t do the editing himself, as Baker often finds the story he wants to tell through the edit.  At his awards speech last Sunday, Baker stated “I consider editing to be half of my directing, and a third of my screenwriting.“ Being an editor on his own movies gives Baker a singular control over every project he does, that few other directors can claim to have.  Looking through his filmography gives us an illuminating view on how he got to where he is today.

Early Days:

Graduating from Tisch School of the Arts in 1998, Baker wasted no time in making his debut film Four Letter Words. It was a fairly inconsequential ultra indie film made on a shoestring budget, most likely financed by Baker himself. Unsurprisingly this movie played at a no-name festival and did nothing in the grand scheme of Baker’s career.

After he made Four Letter Words, he took a four year break from filmmaking, before, oddly enough, becoming inspired to write again by living above a Chinese take-out restaurant, developing a screenplay based around conversations he heard between the delivery drivers.

His second film, Take Out, was a much stronger film that put him on the map of up and coming filmmakers to watch out for.Take Out played at Slamdance, which is sort of like Sundance’s younger cousin. It was notable for being made on a miniscule budget of 3000 dollars, and also marks his first collaboration with Shih-Ching Tsou, co-director for this film, and producer on many of his later projects. Since Take Out, he has approached his research for his movies the same way he did for this movie, actually immersing himself in the location where the movie is set. It’s an almost ‘method acting’ like style of directing and writing.

Baker’s third and fourth films follow a similar path that Take Out did. Prince of Broadway and Starlet were both made with pocket change, and played at smaller film festivals. However, it was Starlet that caught the attention of successful writer and actor, Mark Duplass, known for such works as Creep, Safety Not Guaranteed, and The One I Love, who offered to finance Baker’s next film. Which leads us to…

Breakout Film:

Baker’s next movie was a runaway success called Tangerine. This film was shot on three Iphone 5s’s all on location in Hollywood, and chronicled a day in the life of 2 transgender sex workers. It’s an incredible movie that respects its subject matter and treats sex workers like actual people, a theme he would revisit in all of his films since, including Anora. The movie premiered at Sundance and finally gave Baker the big break he deserved after grinding away at small festivals for 15 years. The film is a monument of achievement showcasing how impactful truly independent filmmaking can be.

Mainstream Success:

Following his breakthrough, Baker has made 3 more films. The Florida Project, Red Rocket, and Anora. The Florida Project follows a single mother with a 6 year old daughter who struggles to make enough money to pay her illegal rent at a rundown motel right in the shadow of Disney World. I watched it for the first time on a 12 hour flight and the experience reduced me to tears. It is my favorite Baker film, so if you are curious about his filmography, this is where I would recommend starting.  Red Rocket, one of his funniest films, unfortunately, kind of flew under the radar for a lot of people, as it came out just as pandemic restrictions were loosening up and was overlooked. Red Rocket is one of his funniest films. This black comedy following a washed up porn actor who tries to move back in with his ex. It lays the groundwork of having a specific character following a modern odyssey in America that Anora expands upon.

And finally, we get to Anora. This movie was a bit of an upset at the Oscars, with many people wondering why it won. The Oscars this year was absolutely stacked with great art films that apparently nobody watched, and Anora is no exception. Well deserving of its best picture win, Anora is another film depicting the plight of a sex worker that treats said sex worker like a real human being and not the butt of a joke. Its also pretty funny in its own right, and takes the viewer on a real rollercoaster of emotions. Its paced incredibly well, and has a lot of surprising twists and turns. In addition to ‘Best Picture’ it picked up wins for ‘Best Editing,’ Best Screenplay,’ and  ‘Best Director.’ All four of those going directly to Baker. It also won Mikey Madison her first Oscar for ‘Best Lead Actress, making her one of the youngest people to win in Oscar history.

Conclusion:

All of this makes Sean Baker the first person to win 4 Oscars for a single film in the history of the show. It cements Baker as one of the great filmmakers of our time. Baker makes films like nobody else in the industry: From research, to directing, to editing the final product, Baker is involved every step of the way, and it’s this process that leads him to hone his vision so strongly in every movie he makes.

If you want to see what all of the fuss is about, I recommend checking out either Anora or The Florida Project, as these are two of his best films and really exemplify his artistic vision of attempting to shine a light on underrepresented and disadvantaged people in a nuanced and interesting way.