JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Anora Director Reveals How His ‘Films Not Taking Off’ Lead to His Cannes Debut; ‘Something Insane…’
Anora's director revealed that his Cannes debut with the 2021 film Red Rocket was an unexpected but much-needed moment for his career. He also teased the "insane" story behind the film!
Anora director Sean Baker earned critical acclaim for his work in recent years, but it was after he recovered from a streak of bad luck. The visionary filmmaker, now nominated for Best Director and Best Film at the 2025 Oscars for Anora, opened up about his tumultuous road to success.
Baker started with his docu-fiction style direction with the 2008 film Prince of Broadway, the story of an illegal Ghanaian street vendor in downtown New York whose hustling lifestyle takes a hit after a toddler, his son he never knew he had, entered his life.
This was followed by the 2012 film Starlet about an aspiring porn star. In 2015, he released Tangerine, a film shot on iPhone telling the story of two transgender sex workers. When the indie filmmaker believed the 2017 film The Florida Project to be his breakout project, his dreams were crushed again.
Although the movie earned several awards, including a supporting role Oscar for Willem Dafoe’s performance, Baker’s direction was not recognized. In 2021, in the hopes of moving up a league, he ditched his indie projects and made Red Rocket, which debuted at Cannes that year.
Speaking to Deadline, Baker revealed that “Red Rocket was a reaction to my other films not taking off.” He thought Scarlet would open the doors and then attached his hopes to Tangerine and The Florida Project, only to be disappointed. Hence, Red Rocket’s overwhelming reception came as a surprise.
Baker almost considered quitting filmmaking after Dafoe received Oscar recognition, but he didn’t. “I was like, ‘O.K., they don’t want me, they don’t want my films,” he said. But Red Rocket’s success was just the boost he needed. I’m going to freaking make something insane next,’” he told the outlet.
Baker is contending in the Best Director category at this year’s Academy Awards alongside Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), Coralie Fargeat (The Substance) and James Mangold (A Complete Unknown).
Latest Articles
