“But I do have to say that we should not be reducing theatrical windows, we should be expanding them. We really should be,” the director continued.

“What’s wrong with keeping something in a place where it’s like, ‘This is the only way you can see the film. This is how the filmmaker wants you to see this film, and everybody else who doesn’t want to, they can wait for it,'” Baker added.

The filmmaker’s declaration of support for longer theatrical releases came after he told Screen Daily that he plans to start production on his next movie this month. He said: “My next film, I’m going to get a 100-day theatrical window. That’s a little bit over three months and I think that’s a good place at this moment.

“When you have day-and-date and going directly to streaming, it diminishes the importance of a film. The theatrical experience elevates the importance. The way you present it to the world is a very important thing,” the screenwriter also noted.

The conversation was led by Fionnuala Halligan, the new director of international programmes at RSIFF. She said: “People don’t get enough time to know [a film] is on.”

“Yes, and that’s sadly happened a lot to me just recently,” Baker said in response. “Films I’ve wanted to see on the big screen, I only had a week to do that. I didn’t even know.”

Known as an advocate of cinema, the helmer also expressed happiness over seeing increasing numbers of young adults heading to theaters.

“I am hopeful because Anora‘s biggest audience was Gen Z, which I never would have expected,” Baker admitted. “I was told Gen Z aren’t going to the movies anymore and that’s not true. In LA, when I go to see movies, it’s usually Gen Z and I love the fact that younger people are seeing the value in a communal experience, and also one in which their focus is entirely on the film and not being distracted by everything else in the room, your phone or whatever.

“We have to support [cinema]. Audiences have to be reminded that they will lose their theatres if they don’t attend,” the filmmaker added.

Baker’s declaration at RSEFF comes almost 10 months after he became the first person to win four Academy Awards on the same night for the same film with Anora. He won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. The romantic comedy-drama’s lead star, Mikey Madison, also won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

The interviewer at RSEFF also asked the helmer how his Oscar wins may have changed opportunities for committed independent filmmakers. He said: “Well, the opportunities are there. Whether we’ll take them or not is the question because I’ve been in this world for so long and we got to a place with Anora where I was working with such an incredible team and the outcome was incredible. So why not try to repeat that?

“So I’m not going to go for the $150m studio thing. I’m just not. I am going to stay in this world. We like to make films independently,” Baker added.

During the Q&A section of the event, Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani, who was among the audience, asked Baker about Anora’s marketing budget. The director said: “I understand Anora was a $6m film with $18m for the marketing. How did this budget come about? It took me five years to collect $1m to make my film, and it went to Cannes and won an award. We then were submitted for the Oscar for best international film but had zero budget.”