Sean Baker Reflects on Current State of Indie Films at Spirit Awards: “The System Has to Change, Because This Is Simply Unsustainable”
When Sean Baker (Anora) won best director at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, he took the opportunity to reflect on the current state of independent film and said the industry needed to change to keep that genre of films alive.
“Indie film is struggling right now, more than ever,” Baker told the audience in a lengthy speech. “Gone are the days of DVD sales that allow for 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 think most of us have worked a lot longer on our films, but let’s go with three.”
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He continued, “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 middle or no income for three 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 agents, managers and lawyers, and what are you left with is simply not enough to get by on in today’s world, especially if one 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’s [been] forced to be cast, considering box office value or how many followers they have on social media,” Baker added, perhaps referencing Maya Hawke’s statements earlier this week that some producers may cast someone based on their follower count. “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 much higher upfront fees, 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. I know that’s not what I signed up for. So let’s demand what we’re worth.”
Baker was nominated alongside Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), Ali Abbasi (The Apprentice), Alonso Ruizpalacios (La Cocina) and Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow). Speaking to his fellow nominees, Baker, said, “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.”
Anora also won best feature shortly (as well as best lead performance for Mikey Madison) after Baker’s best director win. Producer Samantha Quan during her acceptance speech also made a statement about the importance of independent film: “I watched a movie, My Old Ass, and it touched me so much. And I really have to say that it made me think about Anora and indie film and everything, that we hopefully can all be young and dumb enough to follow our hearts no matter what the outcome may be.”
Baker then took the stage to wrap up the show and paid tribute to Josh Welsh, the former Film Independent president who died earlier this year: “I know we are all thinking about Josh Welsh tonight, a true champion of independent voices, and a wonderful, kind human being. We’ll miss you, Josh. We’ll miss you. Long live independent cinema.”
Find the full list of winners from the 40th annual Spirit Awards here, and check out the red carpet arrivals here.
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