Sean Baker (filmmaker) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sean Baker
Baker in 2024
Born	Sean S. Baker (1971-02-26) February 26, 1971 (age 53) Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University (BA)
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	2000–present
Spouse(s)	Samantha Quan

Sean Baker (born February 26, 1971) is an American filmmaker. He is a director, writer, editor, and producer of independent feature films which are often about the lives of marginalized people, especially immigrants. His films include Take Out (2004), Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), The Florida Project (2017), Red Rocket (2021), and Anora (2024). For Anora, he won the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globes and five BAFTA Awards. He is also known for co-creating the Fox/IFC puppet sitcom Greg the Bunny (2002–2006) and its spin-offs.

Early life and education

Sean Baker was born on February 26, 1971, in Summit, New Jersey, and grew up in the Short Hills area of Millburn, New Jersey northeast of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and in Branchburg, New Jersey northwest of New Brunswick. His mother was a teacher and his father was a patent attorney; his father represented Baker and Baker's production company, Black Lamb Productions in a dispute over the title of his film Take Out. Baker has a sister who is a professional synth-pop musician and a production designer, and she contributes to his films in both capacities.

Baker became obsessed with homemade movies at a young age after his mother took him to see Universal Monster films being shown at the local library. While attending Gill St. Bernard's High School ('89) in Somerset and Morris counties, Baker worked as a projectionist at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair. He also worked as a taxi driver during his college years. He received his BFA degree in film studies from New York University in Manhattan through the Tisch School of the Arts. He was scheduled to receive his degree in 1992, but dropped out to get experience making industrial films and TV commercials before returning to graduate in 1998. He also studied non-linear editing at The New School in Greenwich Village in Manhattan.

Career

2000s

Baker's first feature film was Four Letter Words (2000), a film revolving around the looks, views, attitudes, and language of young men in America. He wrote, directed, and edited the film.

He made Take Out (2004), which he co-wrote, co-directed, co-edited, and co-produced with frequent collaborator Shih-Ching Tsou on a budget of $3000. The film revolves around an undocumented Chinese immigrant falling behind on payments on a smuggling debt, leaving him only one day to come up with the money. The film's world premiere was at the Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles on January 18, 2004. After it was screened at over 25 film festivals a legal dispute with Seth Landau, who was planning to release a film with the same name, delayed its release until June 6, 2008.

Baker at KVIFF in Prague, July 2009

Baker's third feature film, Prince of Broadway, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 22, 2008. The film follows a Ghanaian immigrant selling knock off merchandise in Manhattan who discovers that he has a son. He directed, wrote, co-produced, shot, and edited the film. Baker also self-financed the distribution and advertising of the film. Take Out and Prince of Broadway were nominated for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award at the same ceremony in 2008.

2010s

Baker next directed Starlet, which was co-written with Chris Bergoch, and stars Dree Hemingway and Besedka Johnson. Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21-year-old Jane (Hemingway) and 85-year-old Sadie (Johnson), two women whose lives intersect in California's San Fernando Valley. The world premiere for the film was at SXSW on March 11, 2012 and it was given a limited release on November 9, 2012.

In 2016, Baker directed Snowbird, a short fashion film starring model Abbey Lee for Kenzo. It was also shot only using iPhones. His sixth major feature film, The Florida Project, premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was theatrically released in the United States on October 6, 2017, by A24. Baker edited the film himself and co-wrote the script with his frequent collaborator Chris Bergoch. The plot follows a 6-year-old girl living in a motel with her rebellious mother in Greater Orlando as they try to stay out of trouble and make ends meet. The film was praised for its performances (particularly that of Willem Dafoe as the motel manager and Brooklynn Prince as Moonee, a six-year-old girl) as well as for Baker's direction, and was chosen by both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of the year. Dafoe earned Best Supporting Actor nominations at the Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards, and Prince won the Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer.

In June 2018, Baker was invited to be a member of the directors and writers branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In October 2018, he was the head of the film jury at the Mumbai International Film Festival in Mumbai, India.

2020s

Baker directed the feature film, Red Rocket which stars Simon Rex. Baker directed, co-wrote and co-produced the film with his usual team of Bergoch and Tsou among others. Filming took place in secret amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but "industry-standard safety protocols" were observed. The film received a standing ovation at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in the US by A24 on December 10.

In 2022, Baker directed a Taco Bell commercial. He was the executive producer on Love in the Time of Fentanyl, a documentary which premiered at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival in May 2022.

Baker at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024

In October 2023, his next feature film Anora, starring Mikey Madison, was officially announced after distribution rights were acquired by FilmNation. For Anora, Baker became the first American director to win the Palme d'Or since Terrence Malick in 2011. In January 2025, Baker was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing.

Prospective projects

With regards to developing multiple projects at the same time, Baker has stated he "can't creatively juggle." He elaborating that after the success of The Florida Project, he received offers from various studios and producers. "I was actually feeling very torn because I literally could not focus on one project while trying to develop [another]." Encouraged by advice from Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, Baker left a television series that had been greenlit and began working on his next film instead, which was then cancelled as result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of December 2021, Baker was reportedly prepping a potential television series spinoff of his 2015 film Tangerine. He was inspired to do a TV show version of Tangerine as a way to help propel the career of trans actress Mya Taylor, who would play the lead in the project.

In terms of franchise films, Baker has expressed interest in Fast & Furious, stating that he would jump at the chance to direct one because he'd "be able to play with cars and crashes."

Television

Baker is one of the original creators of the sitcom Greg the Bunny (2002–2006), starring Seth Green and Eugene Levy. It is based on a series of short segments which Baker directed and wrote. The series aired on the Independent Film Channel and was in turn derived from a public-access television show called Junktape. In 2010, Baker, Spencer Chinoy, and Dan Milano created a spinoff called Warren the Ape; the series aired on MTV and was canceled after one season.

Personal life

Baker with wife Samantha Quan at TIFF 2024 in Toronto for the premiere of Anora

Baker is married to Samantha Quan, a producer on many of his films. As of July 2021, they have two dogs, Bunsen and Boonee, the latter of whom appeared in his 2012 film Starlet.

Style and influences

Baker has established a reputation for portraying outcasts and characters from underrepresented and marginalized subcultures, frequently undocumented immigrants in decidedly humane and compassionate scenarios.

Baker's influences include Ken Loach, Spike Lee, Federico Fellini, Jim Jarmusch, Mike Leigh, Steven Spielberg, Éric Rohmer, John Cassavetes, and Hal Ashby among others. Baker has said that he consciously includes Easter egg references to other movies in his filmography. For example, a billboard advertising a performance by the character named Strawberry from Red Rocket can be seen at the end of Anora.

Filmography

Film

Short film

Television

Accolades

See also

In Spanish: Sean Baker para niños