Alfonso Cuarón Talks ‘Roma’ Oscar Noms Crediting The Academy’s Recent Focus On Inclusion & Audiences’ Desire For Diverse Films

Sure, “Black Panther” is a big Oscars story, as the film is the largest domestic box office earner of 2018 and the first superhero film to earn a Best Picture nomination. However, perhaps the most notable story of today’s Oscar nominations is with Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma.” And in a new interview, the filmmaker discusses the news that his film earned 10 nominations, tied for the most this year, and why he thinks audiences reacted so well to his latest project.

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Speaking to The Wrap, Cuarón discussed his journey with “Roma” leading up to this morning’s Oscar nominations. Cuarón said, “I started to get surprised at the Venice Film Festival, and then when I started to go around the world with the film hearing the strong emotional responses. Obviously, that shows that the human experience is one and the same — but also, that we share so many wounds that I thought I only shared with my family and with the society I grew up in.”

He credits recent changes in the Academy membership and how audiences are craving a different type of film for why “Roma” has resonated so well.

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“I think that the Academy is become more and more inclusive, and also more diverse. And it’s not only the Academy — I think audiences at large are becoming hungry for a certain kind of diversity in cinema,” said the filmmaker.

He continued, “I think that is very good news. It’s something that should have happened decades ago, but I’m happy it’s finally happening. This is a film about a domestic worker with an indigenous background, and she’s the lead of the film. I think right now Hollywood is breaking certain preconceptions about what the star and the hero of a film should be, the way they did back in the ’70s.”

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Cuarón concludes by talking up his two actresses that both found Oscar nominations, Marina de Tavira and Yalitza Aparicio, saying, “If people like ‘Roma,’ it’s because of them.”

“Roma” is available to stream now on Netflix.