Sean Baker Makes Oscar History With Four Wins for "Anora"

Sean Baker has achieved a historic milestone at the Academy Awards, becoming the first filmmaker to win four Oscars in a single year for the same film. His independent drama, "Anora", earned him awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Director, and Best Picture, making him the only individual to secure these four accolades for a single project.

With this achievement, Baker joins the ranks of Walt Disney, who also won four Oscars in one night in 1953. However, Disney’s awards were for four separate films—"The Living Desert," "The Alaskan Eskimo," "Bear Country," and "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom." That same year, Disney was also nominated for "Ben and Me" and "Rugged Bear."

Accepting his Best Director award, Baker took a moment to express gratitude to the Academy for recognizing an independent film, saying, "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." He also acknowledged Quentin Tarantino, the category's presenter, crediting him for casting Mikey Madison in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," which led to Baker selecting her for "Anora."

It is uncommon for a film’s director to also win the Best Film Editing category, though not unprecedented. Alfonso Cuarón won the Best Editing Oscar alongside Mark Sanger for "Gravity" in 2013. Similarly, James Cameron shared the editing award for "Titanic" in 1997, in addition to winning Best Director and Best Picture.

Baker's record almost had a predecessor in Bong Joon Ho, whose film "Parasite" won four Oscars in 2020, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. However, while the film also won the Best International Feature Film award, that Oscar is officially presented to the film's country rather than the filmmaker, making Bong a three-time winner instead of four.

"Anora" had already secured major wins throughout the awards season, with victories at the Producers Guild Awards, Directors Guild Awards, and Writers Guild Awards in the Best Original Screenplay category. Alongside Baker’s achievements, Mikey Madison won Best Actress, while Yura Borisov received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

While Baker has had a presence at the Oscars before, with Willem Dafoe earning a Best Supporting Actor nomination for "The Florida Project," "Anora" marks the first time the filmmaker himself has been nominated for writing or directing.