Alfonso Cuarón's film 'Roma' is a serious contender for Oscar gold

Director, producer and writer Alfonso Cuarón, 57, is considered one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the business. His movie Roma, a Spanish-language autobiographical film based on his childhood in Mexico, is this year’s award show darling. It won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture — Foreign Language, and Cuarón took top honors for Best Director. Roma also scored Critics’ Choice wins in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematographer categories. Next, it is expected to become the first Spanish-language production to get win an Oscar for Best Picture, and Cuarón is favored to take home his second Best Director statue.

In 2014, he won two Academy Awards for his film Gravity, one for Best Director and the other for Best Film Editing, huge accomplishments not only because the movie grossed $723 million worldwide but also because he was the first Mexican director to win the coveted Oscar. In his acceptance speech, he gave a special shout-out to his mom: “This is thanks to you, Mom. I love you.”

In the black-and-white Roma, Cuarón doesn’t focus on his younger self; instead he focuses on the two most influential women in his life: his mother and his live-in nanny. Cuarón’s passion project had a $15 million budget and took him 108 days to shoot. He had the personal work in mind for a decade, and when it came time to shoot, he kept the script top secret. “I wanted everybody, actors and crew, to learn the circumstance of the characters day by day, the same way that you learn in life,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.

The standout star in Roma is Yalitza Aparicio, a preschool teacher who had never acted. Aparicio plays the nanny in the film, but more than that she’s part of the family. “I never imagined being a part of a project like this,” she told Variety. “The fact that despite the film being so personal for Alfonso, and that it touches on the different problems here in Mexico, people from different countries identify with the story so much that it touches their hearts.”

Aparicio’s performance has received major recognition. She was nominated for Best Actress at the Critics’ Choice Awards. She’s also the first indigenous woman to appear on the cover of Vogue Mexico. “It is something that makes me so happy and proud of my roots.”

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• Gael García Bernal has had nonstop success, and he’s only 40

• Michelle Rodriguez has forged a ‘caliente’ career playing tough-gal characters

• Mexico’s biggest star, Eugenio Derbez, is living the dream

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