Sean Baker director, and writer with Chris Bergoch, explores the common threads making us human in ‘The Florida Project’.
Chatting on the phone with Sean Baker, (that’s FAKE NEWS, I was watching my favorite TV show, CHARLIE ROSE). Sean was captivating. Sean is widely known in the industry for his 2015 film Tangerine, shot entirely on an iPhone!
The Florida Project has a captivating core – people living on the margin. Chris Bergoch sent Sean some news articles about people living in motels outside of Disneyland. Sean and Chris went to investigate. What could be more ironic than children living in poverty outside the children’s Fantasy Capitol of the world?
Interviewing the various pimps, prostitutes, drug addicts and children on the edge, Sean came away with a profound realization, the behavioral attitude of the children was transformative, they resembled the Spanky and Our Gang children of the Great Depression.
Focusing on the hidden lives of the children of the subcultures and minorities, Sean would be able to shine a light on the marginalized individuals of our society. Searching for the right cast was paramount. After many auditions, Brooklynn Prince, a six-year-old won the part of ‘Moonee’, a child unbroken by the world around her, or her Mother’s (Bria Vinaite) rapidly declining social status. Willem Dafoe plays the motel manager where Moonee lives, in what many critics and fans are calling the performance of a lifetime.
The Florida Project received an 8.1 from the International Movie Data Base (IMDB) and boasts a 96% satisfaction score on Rotten Tomatoes. Out now, just in time for the OSCARS!
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