In 2015, director Sean Baker showed audiences a little seen world with his low budget indie hit “Tangerine.” Shot on iPhone 5s, the film took audiences to the gritty street corners of Hollywood, California telling the story of one night in the life of transgender sex worker Sin-Dee Rella. Told with both realism and heart, it made Baker a filmmaker to watch. For his next effort, he switched coasts and went to Miami, where he has found another unique story to tell in “The Florida Project.”
Starring Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe, Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera, Caleb Landry Jones, Macon Blair, Karren Karagulian, and Sandy Kane, the drama tells the story of six-year-old Moonee, who lives with her mother Halley in a week to week motel. She creates a vibrant world for herself, all while her mother struggles to make ends meet. Here’s the official synopsis:
Warm, winning and gloriously alive, Sean Baker’s The Florida Project is a deeply moving and unforgettably poignant look at childhood.
Set on a stretch of highway just outside the imagined utopia of Disney World, The Florida Project follows six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince in a stunning breakout turn) and her rebellious mother Halley (Bria Vinaite, another major discovery) over the course of a single summer. The two live week to week at “The Magic Castle,” a budget motel managed by Bobby (a career-best Willem Dafoe), whose stern exterior hides a deep reservoir of kindness and compassion.
Despite her harsh surroundings, the precocious and ebullient Moonee has no trouble making each day a celebration of life, her endless afternoons overflowing with mischief and grand adventure as she and her ragtag playmates—including Jancey, a new arrival to the area who quickly becomes Moonee’s best friend—fearlessly explore the utterly unique world into which they’ve been thrown. Unbeknownst to Moonee, however, her delicate fantasy is supported by the toil and sacrifice of Halley, who is forced to explore increasingly dangerous possibilities in order to provide for her daughter.
With The Florida Project, Sean Baker gives life and a voice to a community rarely seen on screen. Through the winsome eyes and pained glances of Moonee, Halley, and Bobby, Baker has created a spellbinding and transformative portrait of contemporary lives lived in the margins that are otherwise too easily forgotten. The Florida Project declares, boldly and proudly, that anywhere can be a Magic Kingdom – it just depends on how you see it.
“The Florida Project” opens on October 6th.
