Sean Baker (born February 26, 1971; Summit) is an American film director, cinematographer, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for the independent feature films Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket, as well as his involvement in the Fox/IFC puppet sitcom Greg the Bunny and its spin-offs. Baker has received several film critics awards, a Filmmaker on the Edge Award and nominations for six Independent Spirit Awards, winning one in 2012.
Baker has established a reputation for portraying outcasts and characters from underrepresented and marginalized subcultures, frequently undocumented immigrants and sex workers, in decidedly humane and compassionate scenarios. He claims to have been directly inspired by exploitation films but he has been described as the archetype of a "trustworthy male director" in a post Me Too era. His films have stirred and encouraged a debate about sexual morality.
Baker's influences include Ken Loach, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, Mike Leigh, Steven Spielberg, Éric Rohmer, John Cassavetes, and Hal Ashby, among others.
