By Jeremy Kay23 February 2025

Source: Courtesy of Neon / A24 Anora Productions LLC

Sean Baker

Film Independent handed out its 2025 Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon (February 22), in a Santa Monica ceremony that saw Anora claim three prizes for best feature, director Sean Baker, and lead actor Mikey Madison in the gender-neutral category.

Sean Wang’s Didi took two prizes for best first feature and first screenplay, while Gints Zilbalodis’s Latvian animation Flow won international film and No Other Land was named best documentary. A Real Pain also nabbed two awards for screenplay and supporting actor Kieran Culkin.

Baker gave an impassioned speech calling for higher upfront fees for independent directors who he said take on average three years to make a feature. His words echoed recent statements by The Brutalist writer-director Brady Corbet.

“Indie film is struggling right now more than ever,” said Baker. “Gone are the days of DVD sales that allowed for a greater risk to be taken on challenging films.”

Baker continued, ”We create jobs and revenue for the entire industry. We shouldn’t be barely getting by. Creatives that are involved with projects that span years have to begin getting much higher upfront fees […] because back end simply can’t be relied upon any longer.” He concluded: “The system has to change because this is simply unsustainable.”