Sean Baker, the creator of Anora, took home four Academy Awards on Sunday, including Best Director and Best Picture, marking a dominant awards season for the American filmmaker known for telling stories that humanize sex workers and immigrants.
At 53, Baker was the driving force behind the comedy-drama, writing, producing, directing, and editing the film. Anora stars Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who impulsively marries the reckless son of a Russian oligarch after a ketamine-fueled Las Vegas trip. Their spontaneous wedding angers his parents, leading them to send their clumsy henchmen after the couple to force an annulment.
Anora swept the night with five Oscars, surpassing The Brutalist, which won three. Baker’s four awards tie him with Walt Disney for the most wins in a single year, though all of Baker’s victories were for one film. The previous record holder for most wins with a single film was Bong Joon Ho, who claimed four Oscars for Parasite in 2020.
In addition to Best Director and Best Picture, Sean Baker won awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing, a rare accomplishment since directors usually don’t edit their own films. Heading into the night, Baker was the frontrunner for the Best Director Oscar after winning the top prize from the Directors Guild of America, which historically nearly guarantees an Oscars win. He also claimed top honors at the Producers Guild and Independent Spirit Awards.
During his Best Director acceptance speech, Sean Baker urged filmmakers to continue creating films for the big screen, expressing concern over the decline of the theatergoing experience.
“In a time when the world feels increasingly divided, this is more important than ever,” Baker said. “It’s a shared experience you can’t replicate at home. If we don’t change this trend, we’ll lose an essential part of our culture. This is my call to action.”
Sean Baker credited Quentin Tarantino, who presented him with the award, for casting Mikey Madison in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood in 2019, saying that without her role in that film, Anora would not have happened. On Sunday, Madison won her first Oscar for Best Lead Actress.
“Thank you so much to Sean. I adore you. This is all because of you,” Madison said during her acceptance speech.
This year’s Best Director category featured five first-time nominees for the first time in nearly 30 years. All of them had writing credits on their films, reflecting the academy’s increasing preference for directors who can bring their unique vision to the screen. Baker won the Oscar over Brady Corbet of The Brutalist, James Mangold of A Complete Unknown, Jacques Audiard of Emilia Pérez, and Coralie Fargeat of The Substance.
Anora showcases Baker’s signature blend of provocative comedy and social commentary, taking indie theater humor to the mainstream. The film, which cost $6 million to make—considered a modest budget by Hollywood standards—uses slapstick humor to deliver powerful messages about marginalized groups. Baker humorously noted that it was the best $6 million ever spent, especially compared to last year’s Best Picture winner, Oppenheimer, which had a budget of $100 million.
Sean Baker has been outspoken about the challenges of making independent films and thriving as an indie filmmaker in an industry that increasingly favors big-budget blockbusters. In a passionate speech at the Independent Spirit Awards, he warned that indie films risk becoming “calling card films”—projects created merely to help filmmakers land major studio jobs. He emphasized that without support for independent films, some of the most creative and groundbreaking projects may never come to life.
Baker expressed hope that the success of Anora would inspire more support for independent cinema.
Baker has always been dedicated to using his filmmaking to help destigmatize sex work. His 2012 film Starlet explores the developing friendship between an adult film star and a grumpy widow, who sells her a thermos filled with cash at a yard sale. Baker shared that the relationships he built with sex workers during this project motivated him to feature them in several of his subsequent films.
Sean Baker gained widespread acclaim for Tangerine (2015), where he used three iPhone 5S smartphones to tell the story of transgender sex workers in Los Angeles. In The Florida Project (2017), he portrayed a single mother living in an Orlando motel who turns to sex work to support her daughter. His 2021 film Red Rocket follows a retired porn actor returning to his small Texas hometown.
Baker and Mikey Madison weren’t the only ones to take home Oscars for Anora—producers Alex Coco and Samantha Quan, who is also Baker’s wife, were awarded statues for Best Picture.