Director Sean Baker discusses his film "Tangerine"

Jan 13, 2016

A Q&A between director Sean Baker and MoMA's Ron Magliozzi following a screening of Baker's Tangerine (2015). Shot on Apple 5s smartphones fitted with widescreen adapters, Baker's remarkably impressive low-budget feature was inspired by the street life of the LGBT community in West Hollywood. Over the course of a single day at Christmastime, transgender prostitutes Sin-dee and Alexandra struggle to maintain their friendship as one pursues her unfaithful pimp and the other a singing career. Meanwhile, a bisexual Armenian cab driver cruises the neighborhood for fares and sex, as his suspicious mother-in-law closes in on his secret life. Shot on location around Santa Monica Boulevard's unofficial red light district, the film's dramatic comedy and endearing characters are grounded in the matter-of-fact reality of the contemporary sex trade.