Even Sean Baker’s Mother Disapproved of His ‘Anora’ Script: ‘People Don’t Want to See That’

Sean Baker‘s “Anora” has already won the coveted Palme d’Or and, most recently, the New York Film Critics Circle’s Best Screenplay award, but accepting the prize, he said his own mother tried to sway him away from making the film.

Baker said during the 2025 NYFCC ceremony that his mom disapproved of him writing a film from the perspective of an erotic dancer (Mikey Madison) who weds a Russian billionaire (Mark Eydelshteyn), only to have her dream life ruled as a sham marriage. Yura Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan, and Karren Karagulian star as the fixers who push for an annulment.

Writer/director Baker has focused his career on telling the stories of sex workers, with previous films “Red Rocket” and “Tangerine” destigmatizing the industry. “Anora” is the biggest film of Baker’s career, landing nearly 200 nominations from the Golden Globes, key guilds, and critics’ groups ahead of Oscar nominations being announced. The New York Film Critics Circle Best Screenplay win is the latest accolade for Baker’s “Anora.”

“My mother wouldn’t agree with your choice,” Baker said. “I don’t think she even made it through ‘Red Rocket.’ And then, after she saw, I guess half of it, she asked me what was next. I pitched ‘Anora’ to her over the phone, and she literally said — I’m quoting — ‘Sean, people don’t want to see that.'”

Thankfully, Baker was undeterred.

“In all honesty, this award does make things easier,” indie icon Baker said. “As a filmmaker, it’s validating and most importantly, it is encouraging.”

Baker said, “I’m encouraged to continue to write and make these films that will eventually receive scathing and demoralizing reviews from the one and only Richard Brody [from The New Yorker]. But rest assured, my mom will read your reviews.”

Also during the ceremony, Jim Jarmusch applauded Baker’s depiction of sex onscreen.

“What I loved so admirably about sex in this film is how it’s varied,” Jarmusch said when introducing Baker. “And it’s not, usually, at least in American films. They often do sex to a kind of cliche. In this film, it’s largely transactional. It’s sometimes mechanical, sometimes it’s silly, sometimes it’s sensual, but it’s just something very, very strong. I like to see sex in films that show the variety of what it is and not as admirable too, in this film.”

Jarmusch, whose “punk rock approach to filmmaking” with features such as “Mystery Train” and “Night on Earth” inspired the “DNA” of “Anora,” according to Baker, also compared Baker to John Cassavetes.

“Sean Baker, you deserve this award,” Jarmusch said.