Stripper drama Anora isn’t Oscar winner Sean Baker’s first film about sex workers… it is actually his FIFTH

Indie filmmaker Sean Baker has become the toast of Tinseltown after sweeping the Oscars with his stripper drama Anora.

The daring film dominated the major categories at Sunday’s ceremony, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for leading lady Mikey Madison.

Both Baker and Madison thanked sex workers in their acceptance speeches, which is no surprise considering Baker’s filmography.

Anora is far from the first movie that Baker has released that focuses on the struggles of the sex worker community. 

Before Anora, Baker had already released four films centered around either porn stars or prostitutes, beginning with 2012’s Starlet.

Starlet follows the story of 21-year-old porn star Jane who forms an unlikely friendship with an 85-year-old woman named Sadie.

The film was notable for its casting, as Jane was played by model Dree Hemingway, who is the great-granddaughter of novelist Ernest Hemingway.

The role of Sadie was played by newcomer Besedka Johnson, who was cast off the street and had never acted before appearing in Starlet.

Sadly, Johnson died one year after the film’s release at age 87.

After Starlet, Baker wrote and directed Tangerine, which follows the story of a transgender prostitute in Los Angeles who finds out her pimp has been cheating on her.

The chaotic film was notable for being shot entirely on three iPhones, which helped it become a big hit on the film festival circuit. 

Tangerine’s two leads, Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, were cast after being spotted at an LGBT center in West Hollywood, and Rodriguez had never acted before.

Once Tangerine became a critical darling, Baker was able to secure A-lister Willem Dafoe for his next film, 2017’s The Florida Project.

The gritty slice-of-life drama followed single mother Halley and her six-year-old daughter Moonee living in a budget motel in Florida as they struggle to fend off homelessness. 

In the film, Halley turns to prostitution when she’s unable to pay her rent at the motel.

The Florida Project became Baker’s biggest hit to date, earning five times its budget at the box office and landing Dafoe a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars.

Baker followed with the black comedy Red Rocket, starring Simon Rex as a washed-up porn star named Saber who returns to his small Texas hometown after burning out in Los Angeles. 

In the film, Saber begins a relationship with a 17-year-old girl named Strawberry and attempts to recruit her into the porn industry so he can revive his own career.

Red Rocket underperformed at the box office but was a huge hit on the indie film circuit, even nabbing a prestigious Palme d’Or nomination.

Baker finally got his big Hollywood break at Sunday’s Oscars, taking home five awards for Anora. 

During his acceptance speech for Best Original Screenplay, Baker stunned the A-list audience by thanking sex workers. 

‘I want to thank the sex worker community. My deepest respect. I share this with you,’ he said.

He later called for sex work to be decriminalized while discussing his wins with the press room. 

‘It’s our oldest profession. Yet it has an incredible unfair stigma applied to it and what I’ve been trying to do with my films is sort of chip away at that very unfair stigma,’ he said, according to the Associated Press. 

‘Personally, I think it should be decriminalized and I guess through my work, through hopefully humanizing my characters that are usually seen as perhaps caricatures in most film and television, it will help do that.’

Madison also ‘honored and recognized the sex work community’ during her Best Actress acceptance speech, which drew applause from the crowd. 

Anora stars Madison as stripper Ani who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only to have his handlers go to shocking ends to annul the marriage.