So what’s Sean Baker been doing since Anora racked up a bunch of Oscars? Well, he at the Berlin Film Festival and premiered a new short film, Sandiwara, starring Michelle Yeoh. Baker has also been developing his next feature, a return to the guerrilla-style of filmmaking with non-professional actors in a story centered around the sex community.
Speaking with Variety, Baker said that his next feature will be set in Italy and is an ode to the Italian sex comedies of the ’60s and ’70s…
“It’s my love letter to the Italian sex comedies of the ’60s and ’70s, so I’m leaning into that. We want to shoot this year.”
Italian actress Vera Gemma appears to have a role in the film, but Baker wouldn’t go so far as to confirm it. Gemma received acclaim for her role, as a heightened version of herself, in the 2022 docudrama Vera. It’s worth noting that Gemma’s father was the late Italian actor Giuliano Gemma, who was prominent in the ’60s and ’70s in Spaghetti Westerns.
Baker also said that he aims to make the film independently, although he was made plenty of offers. He hopes to work again with Anora distributor NEON once the production wraps.
“I was offered development deals, but I very much want to make my films independently. I mean, it would be amazing if Neon in the States would distribute my film again. I’d love to work with them again so much. But we are making our film independently so that I can retain full control over everything from casting to content, and not even have to take one note because that drives me up the wall. It’s like, why?”
