Sean Baker Wishes His Mom a Happy Birthday as He Wins Best Director forAnoraat Oscars 2025: 'This Is for You!'

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Kevin Winter/Getty

Kevin Winter/Getty

Anorafilmmaker Sean Baker is this year’s directing champion at theOscars.

Baker, who already earned wins for Film Editing andBest Original ScreenplayforAnora, quickly thanked Tarantino for casting Mikey Madison inOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood.

“If you didn’t cast Mikey inOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood, there would be no Anora,” Baker noted.

“We’re all here tonight and watching this broadcast because we love movies. Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theater,” Baker continued in his speech. “Watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, scream and fight together, perhaps sit in devastated silence together. And in a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more than important ever. It’s a communal experience you simply don’t get at home.““Right now, the theater-going experience is under threat. Movie theaters, especially independently-owned movie theaters, are struggling. It’s up to us to support them. During the pandemic, we lost nearly 1000 screens in the U.S. We continue to lose them regularly. If we don’t reverse this trend, we’ll be losing a vital part of culture,” Baker said, receiving applause from the audience.

“This is my battle cry. Filmmakers, keep making movies for the big screen. I know I will. Distributors, please focus first and foremost on the theatrical releases of your film. Neon did that for me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Baker said, adding, “Parents, introduce your children to feature films in movie theaters and you’ll be molding the next generation of movie lovers and movie makers.”

“And for all of us, when we can, please watch movies in the theater and let’s keep the great tradition of the movie theater alive and well,” Baker said, before giving a sweet birthday shoutout to his mother, whom he credits with making him a lover of movies.

“My mother introduced me to cinema at five years old. Today is also her birthday. Happy birthday mom. I love you. Thank you for everything,” Baker said.

Also in the running for the best director prize were Jacques Audiard forEmilia Pérez, Brady Corbet forThe Brutalist, Coralie Fargeat forThe Substanceand James Mangold forA Complete Unknown.

‘Anora’.NEON

NEON

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Although he’s risen through the Hollywood ranks as a groundbreaking indie director, Baker, 54, made his nominee debut at the 2025 Oscars. As the writer, director, producer and editor ofAnora, he joined an elite list of filmmakers who earned four nods for one film. The Best Picture winner starsMikey Madison, also a first-time nominee, as the titular sex worker experiencing a whirlwind Cinderella story.

‘The Brutalist’.Lol Crawley

Lol Crawley

Corbet, 36, is a former actor whose behind-the-camera transition has brought about three acclaimed features: 2015’sThe Childhood of a Leader, 2018’sVox Luxand nowThe Brutalist, which starsAdrien Brodyas a Hungarian-born Jewish architect emigrating to the U.S. following the Holocaust. The historical epic, costarring Brody’s fellow Oscar nomineesFelicity JonesandGuy Pearce, earned Corbet his first three nominations, including for Best Picture and the original screenplay he co-wrote with wife Mona Fastvold.

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‘Emilia Pérez’.PAGE 114/WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS/PATHÉ FILMS/FRANCE 2 CINÉMA

PAGE 114/WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS/PATHÉ FILMS/FRANCE 2 CINÉMA

Audiard, 72, is a legendary French director known stateside for 2018’sThe Sisters Brothersand 2013’sRust and Bone. His Mexico-set musical-thrillerEmilia Pérez, about a drug cartel leader who secretly undergoes gender-affirming surgery, starsZoe Saldañaand, in the titular role,Karla Sofía Gascón, the Oscars’first openly transgender performer nominee. Earlier this season when her controversial social mediapostsresurfaced, Gascóndeactivatedher X account, gave severalstatementsandinterviewsand eventuallyapologizedafter Audiardcondemnedthe Spanish actress’ words.

‘The Substance’.MUBI/YouTube

MUBI/YouTube

French writer-director Fargeat, 48, followed up her 2017 featureRevengewith the wholly original horror-satireThe Substance. StarringDemi MooreandMargaret Qualleyas different versions of the same character taking a body-altering substance, the hit film earned Fargeat her first three Oscar nods including for Best Picture. In the Best Director category, she became the Academy’s ninth ever female nominee.

After a screenplay nod for 2017’sLoganand Best Picture nod for 2019’sFord v Ferrari, Mangold, 61, extended his Oscar recognition tally to five as the director and co-writer (with Jay Cocks) of Best Picture contenderA Complete Unknown. The hit biopic, about the 1960s folk movement, stars Oscar nomineesTimothée ChalametasBob Dylan,Edward NortonasPete SeegerandMonica BarbaroasJoan Baez.

‘A Complete Unknown’.Searchlight Pictures/Youtube

Searchlight Pictures/Youtube

SeePEOPLE’s full coverage of the 97th annual Academy Awards, airing on ABC.

source: people.com