The China Mail - Sean Baker: chronicler of sex work, Oscar winner

Baker earned the coveted Academy Award with "Anora," his latest neorealistic portrayal of society's underbelly, in which a stripper thinks she has struck it rich with a Russian oligarch's son.

Winning best director with his first nomination, Baker fended off Brady Corbet ("The Brutalist"), James Mangold ("A Complete Unknown"), Jacques Audiard ("Emilia Perez") and Coralie Fargeat ("The Substance").

"Anora" also won best picture and best actress, and Baker himself collected additional gold statuettes for best original screenplay and best editing.

Baker made an impassioned plea for filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screen, saying the theater-going experience is "under threat."

"During the pandemic, we lost nearly 1,000 screens in the US, and we continue to lose them regularly. If we don't reverse this trend, we'll be losing a vital part of our culture," he told the audience.

"This is my battle cry. Filmmakers: Keep making films for the big screen. I know I will. Distributors: please focus first and foremost on the theatrical releases of your films."

It has been a long road to Hollywood's grandest stage for the 54-year-old Baker, a slight and unfailingly affable character with an encyclopedic knowledge of film, who is known for casting non-actors and real sex workers in his movies.

Despite a devoted arthouse following, Baker's only previous encounter with the Oscars maelstrom came when Willem Dafoe -- a rare big-name star in the director's oeuvre -- was nominated for a supporting role in "The Florida Project."

That fleeting glimpse into awards campaigning was "a crazy, crazy run," but US audiences have been told "only come to the theater for the big blockbusters -- everything else you can get on Netflix," Baker later told AFP.

With "Anora," which won the Palme d'Or on its debut at the Cannes film festival in May, Baker has finally broken through to wider audiences.

By far his most successful film, it has grossed around $40 million.

"Anora" won this year's top prize from Hollywood's directors guild last month, where the visibly shocked and characteristically modest Baker told peers his "imposter syndrome" was "skyrocketing."

- 'Right under our noses' -

Born on February 26, 1971, Baker was initiated in cinema by his mother, a teacher. He got the bug at the age of six when he saw Boris Karloff playing the monster in "Frankenstein."

His first feature, "Four Letter Words," was released in 2000, shortly after his graduation from New York University, but his life spiralled out of control because of a heroin addiction.

Emerging from that dark place, Baker was determined to stay in the industry, even if he was just clinging on by his fingernails.

He was a long way from following in the footsteps of his heroes -- John Cassavetes, Ken Loach and Mike Leigh -- but his story was not over yet.

He made "Take Out" (2004) about a Chinese immigrant in New York trying to pay off his debts to a smuggler.

But it was "Starlet" (2012), about a porn actress, that got him interested in sex workers, putting him in touch with prostitutes, escorts and exotic dancers, many of whom became friends.

Asked why so many of his films focus on sex work, Baker told AFP last May that "we are all fascinated... because it is right under our noses, whether we notice it or not."

"No joke. From my kitchen, I can literally look into a happy endings massage parlor," said Baker, who lives in Los Angeles.

Baker's next film, "Tangerine," was shot on iPhones and followed two transgender prostitutes through the streets of LA on one crazy day.

He followed it with "The Florida Project," about a six-year-old girl living in a cheap motel with her mother, a stripper who loses her job and begins soliciting sex work online.

Bria Vinaite, who plays the struggling mother, was discovered by Baker on Instagram, while one of the child actors was spotted in a supermarket.

- 'The scandalous and the mundane' -

Baker was invited to compete for the Palme d'Or at Cannes for the first time in 2021.

"Red Rocket," the "Lolita"-inspired tale of a porn star returning to his small Texas hometown to groom a young girl, earned Baker typically sterling reviews.

He returned to Cannes with "Anora" last year, where ecstatic standing ovations and glowing reviews kickstarted an awards campaign that proved unstoppable.

Baker told AFP at the time he had expected a more "divisive" response because "we all have different opinions about sex work."

But for Baker, the lives of these real, often flawed human beings whose days and nights contain both the scandalous and the mundane, "can be explored forever."

"I can't make just -- and excuse my terminology here, because it's an old term -- a 'hooker with a heart of gold' story," he added.

K.Lam--ThChM