Anora’s Sean Baker wins Best Director at the 2025 Oscars and immediately pleads, “Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen”

Sean Baker has won the Academy Award for Best Director at the 2025 Oscars. He wins for helming Anora, which has had a great night at the awards ceremony. Accepting the award, he said, “Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen. Distributors, please focus first and foremost on the theatrical releases of your films.”

Anora is Baker’s seventh feature film after his previous success with movies like The Florida Project, Red Rocket, and Tangerine. It follows Ani (played by Mikey Madison), a stripper and escort from Brighton Beach in New York City. She finds herself in a whirlwind romance with Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch after they meet at her club. What follows is a wild comedy-drama as Vanya’s parents find out what happened and are not very pleased.