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Anora Movie - Sean Baker’s 30 Year Journey to 'Anora':

Sean Baker's 30-year career is a testament to his commitment to independent cinema and his ability to humanize the overlooked corners of American life. His journey from micro-budget guerrilla filmmaking to the top of the cinematic world is a triumph of vision, persistence, and an unwavering dedication to telling the stories of those often left in the margins.
Transcript
00:00NBC Mark.
00:01First question.
00:02Okay.
00:03It seems like Enora is the culmination of everything you built in over 25 years of filmmaking.
00:07Do you say that's an accurate way to see it?
00:11So I guess that you could say that.
00:13Sean Baker is really a great filmmaker.
00:16He mixes reality with fiction in a very beautiful way.
00:20I mean, I don't know if it's appropriate to say, but he's definitely my favorite filmmaker
00:24I've ever worked with.
00:25There were three eye hooks.
00:27You can see from the production of this movie, we're not making a ton of money.
00:31So I had to sell off one of the iPhones to pay your rent, okay?
00:34I come from the independent film world.
00:36Lots of us wear many hats in this world.
00:38So I'm a writer, director, editor.
00:41I have a stiff neck.
00:43I'm one of the producers.
00:45Looking back at Takeout, I had to shoot clandestinely.
00:47I had to shoot in a business that we couldn't shut down.
00:51Only two crew members.
00:52I mean, we were the entire crew.
00:55I think the biggest challenge is simply sticking with it.
01:00For so many years, if you're an independent filmmaker, you're barely paying rent.
01:06Before your work gets recognized, you're the only one who's going to believe in your work.
01:10I saw her from about maybe 35 feet away, and she just drew me in.
01:15The challenge is really just getting through these years, learning how to still stay in
01:20the industry by taking editing jobs, by shooting corporate videos, by doing whatever I can
01:27do to just keep fresh.
01:29And then you're suddenly at a place where the struggles of those earlier films that
01:35may not have gotten attention, suddenly are getting attention, and you can sleep that
01:38night.
01:39That's the goal, to be able to sleep that night.
01:43A particular film that captured our hearts, let us laugh, and then broke our hearts and
01:51never lost sight of the truth.
01:53This is honestly not just a dream come true, but it's a dream come true.
02:01Like, this was it.
02:02This was the goal that I had in mind for 30 years.
02:06The Condor goes to Anora.
02:09That's from Cinderella.
02:13Yes, fucking Cinderella!
02:15In my eyes, it's almost a celebration of all the films that I love.
02:19This film would not have been this film without my entire career.
02:23Well, we're not done yet.
02:27Long Live Cinema!