Sean Baker Makes Movies About Sex Workers in Hopes of ‘Helping Remove the Stigma’ — and He’s ‘Already Talking About the Next One’

variety.com:

Anora” on Wednesday, Sean Baker discussed his affinity for making films about sex workers — and teased his next film. “Anora,” which premiered at the film festival on Tuesday, follows a strip club worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch.

When asked about how sex workers came to be the subject of the last five of his movies, Baker said after making 2012’s “Starlet,” he was “introduced to the adult film world.” “I became friends with [sex workers] and realized there were a million stories from that world.

If there is one intention with all of these films, I would say it’s by telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal,” he said. “It’s helping remove the stigma that’s been applied to this livelihood, that’s always been applied to this livelihood.” Baker said he perhaps won’t always make films about the subject, but teased that “we’re already talking about the next one and it involves a sex worker, so.” He added later that he believes sex work should be “decriminalized and not in any way regulated, because it’s a sex worker’s body and it’s up to them to decide how they will use it in their livelihood.” The film involves numerous sex scenes, but Baker said at the presser that he prefers to refer to them as “sex shots.” “They’re really choreographed, they’re really blocked and I’m obviously working with my actors very closely in the choreography and development as well to make sure each sex scene or sex shot is necessary and moving the plot forward,” he said.

Mikey Madison, who plays the title character said she, Baker and producer Samantha Quan “would talk about different positions” and then Baker and Quan would “demonstrate what they wanted it to look like.” “She’s my producer.