Interview: Sean Baker Returns to Chat About Making ‘Anora’ in Brighton Beach and Coney Island

A movie from Sean Baker is always going to be a lot of things. It’s going to humanize sex work. It’s going to give you a unique setting that he’ll recontectualize. That’s the tip of the iceberg, too, all of which adds up to make him arguably the most interesting independent filmmaker in the business. His films are a lot of things, but boring is not one of then. With Anora, it’s all come together in a way that’s bringing in new fans, at long last. It may well also make him, at long last, an Academy Award nominee. I previously spoke to Baker here about Red Rocket, but today, my newest chat with the man comes your way, with his latest Oscar hopeful.

In my review of Anora (found here) back at the Telluride Film Festival, the four star rave began like so:

Sean Baker has made a career out of de-stigmatizing sex work. He’s clearly fascinated by characters who exist, to one degree or another, on the margins of society, seen as “other” in some way. Not only does it set him apart as a storyteller, it leads to some incredibly unique works. Starlet, Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket have all established him as a poet laureate for these people. Now, with Anora, Baker has upped his game even more. In crafting his first romance, as well as leaning a bit more into plot, he’s made his fullest cinematic meal yet. This is not just the best thing I’ve seen so far at the Telluride Film Festival, it’s the best movie of the year so far.

Anora is a wild ride. It begins as Baker’s take on Pretty Woman, before evolving into something more akin to a night out thriller. After Hours has been evoked by some, as well as Cinderella by Baker himself, but none of this prepares you for the third act. If act one is comedy and romance, act two retains some of the laughs while also bringing in danger, act three takes it all home with a real sense of tragedy as well. This is an auteur fully in control of his craft.

Below, you can see my latest conversation with Baker. Given the limited time and our prior chats on the festival circuit the past month or so, I opted to continue discussing shooting Anora in Brighton Beach and Coney Island. As some of you know, that’s where I live, and I can literally see my home in the flick, so that’s a real surreal moment for me. Baker has been amused by that all season and continues to be here. He’ll explain that, he’ll talk about some of his cinematic influences for the film, and lots more. We get a fair bit done in a very brief amount of time. Anora is hitting theaters in a few short days and is my favorite movie of 2024, still.

Here now is my interview with Anora filmmaker Sean Baker. Enjoy:

Anora begins its theatrical run this weekend!