Sean Baker, renowned for his films focusing on sex workers and marginalised communities, won the Oscar for Best Director on Sunday for his latest film, Anora.
The neorealistic drama, which portrays a stripper’s belief that she’s struck it rich with a Russian oligarch’s son, also took home Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards.
Baker’s win marks his first Oscar nomination and victory. He beat out competitors such as Brady Corbet for The Brutalist and Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez.
Anora, which debuted at Cannes, has been a major success, grossing around $40 million.
Baker, who has a history of working with non-actors and real sex workers, has become one of Hollywood’s most distinctive voices in indie cinema.
In his acceptance speech, Baker urged filmmakers to keep creating films for the big screen, lamenting the decline in theatre-going experiences in the U.S. due to the pandemic.
His career trajectory has been far from conventional, starting with smaller, indie films like Starlet (2012) and Tangerine (2015), before gaining wider recognition with The Florida Project (2017).
Baker, 54, has long been interested in exploring the lives of sex workers—a theme that is central to many of his films.
He credits his fascination with the subject to the way it’s often overlooked in everyday life.
Anora has only heightened his reputation, and his recent Oscar triumph marks a new chapter in his acclaimed career.
