Inside The Making Of 'The Florida Project' With Director Sean Baker

Joyful and sad, triumphant and painful, vibrant and dreary — the film “The Florida Project” explores the grim reality of abject poverty through the eyes of a resilient and exuberant child living on the brink of homelessness. Yet despite some of its heartbreaking undertones, Sean Baker’s drama is full of laughter, love and surprises.

Much of the film's lightness is because of Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), the 6-year-old protagonist whose greatest asset is her innocence and naiveté. Her 22-year-old mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite), can barely afford to keep a roof over their heads in their $35-a-night Orlando motel, managed by Bobby (Willem Dafoe). However, Mooney and her young friends are able to conjure up a candy-colored summery dreamscape to escape the realities of their plight.

“I really want viewers to laugh with Moonee, to embrace and love her,” Baker told Patch. “I want the audience to be returning to the summers of their youth — like Moonee’s escapism — even though we’re dealing with a serious subject matter.”

The genesis of “The Florida Project” is fascinating to say the least. In 2011, the sight of rambunctious kids living in Florida’s whimsical motels struck a chord in Baker’s co-screenwriter, Chris Bergoch. He brought it to Baker’s attention, and the director was “taken aback” by the life of poverty in the shadow of Walt Disney’s perfect world.

“There’s that juxtaposition obviously that I thought would lend nicely to its dramatic narrative,” said Baker.

The director then thought of the uplifting “Our Gang” series, also known as Hal Roach’s “The Little Rascals,” featuring Depression-era street kids.

“Plus, I’ve been very influenced by 'The Little Rascals' my entire career,“ added Baker. “Chris and I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to make a modern-day version of 'The Little Rascals' focusing on the joy of the children’s adventures as they watch ‘The Most Magical Place On Earth’ from the sidelines.”

Over time, the heartache and struggle of these unseen families became a more compelling story for Baker and Bergoch to tell. However, securing the necessary financing to get the project green-lighted was difficult.

Then in 2015 came Baker’s critically acclaimed “Tangerine,” a film he shot entirely with his iPhone 5s. Like “The Florida Project,” it was an intimate examination of the fringes of American life in the guise of offbeat humor. Baker asserted that it was this dramedy about two trans individuals that “opened up the doors for financing” his new film.

“We really wanted to do 'The Florida Project' before 'Tangerine,'" Baker said. "But we couldn’t find financing, so we went ahead and did this micro-budget film shot in my iPhone. Thankfully, we did.”

Thereafter, it took them a few more years to conduct their research and interviews with motel residents, managers and social agencies.

“Obviously, we spent a few more years doing pre-production, gathering information. And altogether, it took us 35 days to shoot,” shared the 46-year-old director.

Despite his newfound iPhone-auteur fame, he was determined to shoot “The Florida Project” on 35mm anamorphic film to evoke the soft, screaming colors of a manic summer vibe.

“We could have shot it in my iPhone, but there was a specific look I was going for. I wanted that organic feel of the celluloid, so we shot it on 35mm anamorphic film,” explained the director. “Another reason: It felt like I was becoming the iPhone guy, and I wanted to do a 180-degree direction.”

In "The Florida Project," Oscar-nominated Dafoe is surrounded by fresh faces, including “100 percent green” (non-actor) Vinaite, whom Baker cast from Instagram. Evidently, this was all by design.

"While I love combining seasoned actors with first-timers, I also understand that it would require an incredibly skilled and transformative actor to fit in a world full of unrecognizable faces, " Baker noted.

The director's "biggest fear" in the beginning was that the audience would only constantly see Dafoe. But Baker said he was incredibly lucky in that the actor has that extraordinary ability to truly blend in with the cast.

"He transforms into this compassionate and sympathetic Bobby character. And within seconds, you're forgetting about Willem," Baker remarked.

In the end, the director hopes audiences will be encouraged by the heart-wrenching reality of these characters whom they might not usually see otherwise.

“My hope is that they’re going to be inspired to think about the real Halleys and real Moonees out there. I hope questions are evoked by the narrative about why the American Dream works for some and not for others, and what our social and moral responsibility is to the people it leaves behind,” said Baker.

“The Florida Project” is open now everywhere.

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Top Photo: Director and writer Sean Baker attends "The Florida Project" Premiere at The Enzian Theater on Oct. 4 in Maitland, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/A24)