Following Roma’s 10 Oscar Noms, Alfonso Cuarón Would Work With Netflix Again “In A Second”

Director Alfonso Cuarón is having a good year, already. Not only has he broken down barriers with his non-studio feature Roma, which also happened to open to rave critical reception, but that same film has now netted an astonishing ten Oscar nominations – joint-first with this year’s other Academy-darling, The Favourite.

But of the swathe of nominations the film has collated (including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Screenplay), one stands out to Cuarón above all else; “Of course, the Academy nomination that makes me the happiest is the nomination for Yalitza Aparicio,” the director said in an interview with Deadline, of his lead performer’s nomination for Best Actress, “There has never been an indigenous woman nominated for an Academy Award. This is a film that centres on a Mexican worker from an indigenous background and she’s the protagonist of this film, and I’m just very moved and very touched that’s been experienced around the world, and how the film has emotionally connected with audiences around the world.”

Much of the discussion around Roma, prior to its release and subsequent awards-buzz, was centred upon its choice of release platform; indeed, the film is a Netflix Original, and Cuarón faced much ire in the indie-space for his decision to go with such a new-money option. However, when asked if that would stop him working with the company again, the director was adamant: “I would work with Netflix in a second. They have delivered way more than what they promised. I am so pleased. I made a movie that on paper seems very unlikely and very difficult. It’s a drama, it’s not a genre film, it’s black-and-white, it’s in Spanish and Mixtec. When it was presented, the actors were not recognisable. It was like something that could have ended in just one theatre in LA, and one theatre in New York, and one theatre in several cities around the world. Does Netflix have anything to do with this presence? Yes they have a lot to do with this presence.”

Roma is available on demand now, and is rated 15.