Sean Baker gelled his micro-bangs up off his forehead for the first time this awards season and got to work. In fact, at the 2025 Oscars, he won the most Oscars that any person, ever, has won in one night. It’s the kind of winning streak that is only possible when you’re this kind of insane, indie multi-hyphenate. Baker won Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Director, and Best Picture for his movie Anora, earning the record amount of Oscars won by one person in a single night for the same film, with four. Then Anora also won Best Actress for Mikey Madison, which is not technically a Baker win but still feels like one. Not bad for a guy who had literally never been nominated before. In his first speech, for Best Original Screenplay, he thanked “the sex worker community,” noting that “they have shared their stories, they have shared their life experience with me over the years.” Then, when he won editing, he said, “I consider editing to be half of my directing and a third of my screenwriting.”
Accepting Best Director, he took a moment to stump for movie theaters. “Watching a film in the theater, with an audience, is an experience,” he said. “We laugh together, cry together, scream in fright together, perhaps sit in silence together, and in a time when the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever.”
Finally, when he won Best Picture, Baker seemed all speeched out, just dropping in to give a quick note. “I want to thank the Academy for recognizing a truly independent film,” he said. “This was made on the blood, sweat, and tears of incredible indie artists. Long live independent film.”