SPEC Film hosted director Sean Baker on April 22.
Credit: Chenyao LiuSocial Planning and Events Committee's film branch hosted Oscar-winning director Sean Baker for a conversation with author and Cinema Studies senior lecturer Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve on Tuesday.
Drawing an audience of over 500 students and members of the Philadelphia community, the April 22 event was hosted in the Harrison Auditorium of the Penn Museum. Baker took the opportunity to speak about his upbringing and career, and offer advice to other filmmakers.
“I’m in love with movies,” Baker told Van Cleve. “My mother brought me to the local library in Millburn, New Jersey, and they were showing clips from Universal monster films. I think they were probably 16 millimeter or Super 8, where they would actually project the highlights — the big scenes.”
After making short films and home movies throughout his high school experience, Baker attended New York University to continue his craft.
“I went to NYU with very limited knowledge of film in general — it was mostly mainstream Hollywood stuff that I was exposed to,” he said. “Being at NYU and in a city where I could go to a repertory house or Kim’s Video, suddenly I was falling in love with world cinema.”
He added that the style of films he watched at that time was a “combination of Italian Neo-realism, British social realism, French New Wave.”
As a subcommittee, SPEC Film organizes various events — including movie screenings and panels with industry speakers.
“SPEC Film organizes a speaker event every spring, and it is a lot of moving parts, but I think this event went well,” College sophomore and SPEC Film Internal Director Peyton Falconer said. “We always try to find a speaker that we are excited about and that we think the student body and Philadelphia community will be excited about. We thought Sean Baker’s commitment to independent filmmaking, success at Cannes, and Oscars buzz made him a really great candidate.”
Baker’s filmography boasts seven independent feature films. His prominent projects include “Tangerine” in 2015, “The Florida Project” in 2017, and “Anora” in 2024.
“The subject matter of ‘Anora’ is not exactly one that I thought would win,” Baker said, reflecting on the film’s critical success, especially at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the highest prize of Palme d'Or. “Historically, drama comedies [don’t] really win Cannes, so we didn't even expect the Palme d'Or. We were just happy to be playing in competition.”
During the conversation, Baker shared various lessons he has learned as a filmmaker.
“My advice to filmmakers coming up is to really understand the mechanics of the industry and understand the business side of things,” he said. “Look at your budgets. Don't just let producers become a producer on your own films. Understand every line. It’s important to be able to support yourself.”
Baker has also received invitations to speak at Brown University and Florida State University.
“I believe this is the first event SPEC Film has sold out in a while, which was really exciting to see,” Falconer said. “The production company for ‘Anora,’ Neon, sent us some merchandise to give out at the event, which was really cool as well. Sean Baker was wonderful to work with, and overall, I thought the event was a success.”
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