Sean Baker Fights for ‘Higher Upfront Fees’ in Best Director Speech at Film Independent Spirit Awards
Sean Baker is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. For the last two decades, Baker has worked on the fringes of American cinema, sticking to his independent roots, but as his star rises to new heights with his Oscar frontrunner “Anora,” the writer/director is using his platform to call out the inequity he sees within the film industry and how it keeps creatives from achieving financial security.
Upon accepting the award for Best Director at the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards, after offering his thanks to everyone who made “Anora” possible, Baker dedicated a chunk of his speech to acknowledging the struggle indie film is currently facing. Baker explained that he thinks it will only get better when those who control the financing system offer greater support to artists.
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Read Baker’s full Indie Spirit Awards speech below:
This is incredible. Film Independent, I love you. I’m gonna read a little, so please forgive me. First off, Ali, Alonso, Jane, and Brady, we all know there is no best. We all made wholly original films, and it’s an honor to be in this category with you, so thank you. Film Independent, I’ve said this before, but it’s definitely worth repeating: next to my parents, you’ve been my greatest supporter. I’ve been in this room with every one of my films starting with “Take Out,” and it just means the world to me. Thank you so much. I want to thank my incredible cast and crew and two incredible producing partners, Samantha Quan and Alex Coco. And I have all my main cast here who made my job so incredibly easy: Mikey, Yura, Mark, Karren, Vache, I love you guys.
I want to thank my manager Adam Kersh, FilmNation, and our distributor Neon. Working with Neon has been an absolute dream. They gave Anora a perfect release and focused on the theatrical run first and foremost. Thank you guys. And I also want to thank Focus Universal, Le Pacte, and our other overseas partners. Now I’m gonna go really fast here, guys, but I just want to use this moment to speak about the current state of indie film, specifically how it applies to creatives.
Indie film is struggling right now more than ever. Gone are the days of DVD sales that allowed for a greater risk to be taken on challenging films. That revenue stream is gone, and the only way to see significant back end is to have a box office hit with profits that far exceed what any of our films will ever see unless you are Damien Leone and strike gold with a franchise like “Terrifier.” But as we all know, that’s an extreme rarity. For me, and I think for many of my peers, if we’re lucky, the average number of years dedicated to making a film is around three. I’m gonna say three. I think most of us have worked a lot longer on our films, but let’s go with three. If you are a writer/director trying to break in right now, there’s a good chance you’re making a film for free or making next to nothing on production or sale. How do you support yourself with little or no income for 3 years?
Let’s say you’re lucky enough to be with the guilds. Take the DGA and WGA minimums and then divide them by three. Take out taxes and possibly percentages that you owe your agents, managers, and lawyers, and what are you left with? It’s just simply not enough to get by on in today’s world, especially if one is is trying to support a family. I personally do not have children, but I know for a fact that if I did, I would not be able to make the movies that I make.
Why am I talking about this today? Because I’m an indie film lifer, and I know that there are other indie film lifers in this room, those who don’t see indie films as calling cards, those who don’t make these films to land a series or a studio film. Some of us want to make personal films that are intended for theatrical release with subject matter that would never be greenlit by the big studios. We want complete artistic freedom and the freedom to cast who is right for the role, not who we’re forced to cast considering box office value, or how many followers they have on social media. The system has to change because this is simply unsustainable.
We are creating product that creates jobs and revenue for the entire industry. We shouldn’t be barely getting by. Creatives that are involved with projects that span years have to begin getting higher — much higher — upfront fees, and again, because back end simply can’t be relied upon any longer, we have to demand that. If not, indie films will simply become calling card films, and I know that’s not what I signed up for. So let’s demand what we’re worth. I know that if you’re in this room, you’ve proven that you’re worth it, so let’s not undervalue ourselves any longer. And we can work together, it can be filmmakers working with agencies, working with financiers, film sales companies, and distributors to make indie film sustainable for creatives and keep indie film alive. This is for all the indie film lifers who are holding on and fighting the good fight. Thank you so much.
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