Sean Baker is scrappy. For years, the writer-director has been making independent films about marginalized groups, from undocumented immigrants to sex workers. He casts his own movies, working with friends and talent he finds on social media.

As a writer and director, Baker has dedicated much of his career to elucidating the subtleties of figures like Ani who are often relegated to the background. He’s allowed us to peer inside the fictional lives of trans sex workers on Hollywood Boulevard in his 2015 breakout “ Tangerine ,

Sean Baker's “Anora” is by wide consensus one of the year’s best films and a best picture contender at the Oscars

I talked with Sean after Anora’s debut at the New York Film Festival to discuss how he finds his stories, the power of women in his filmography, and how to make a medium-budget film look like a big-budget film.

That ends this weekend, when Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora opens in New York and Los Angeles. To commemorate the occasion, here are 10 questions — one for each of GoldDerby’s top 10 Best Picture contenders — that remain unanswered in this “phony war” period of the 2025 Oscar season.