▲Cuarón purposely withheld the script and story from his cast, shooting everything in chronological order, feeding them lines bit by bit, all so that each scene was as fresh and authentic as possible. Each actor would also reportedly receive contradictory directions and explanations, resulting in chaos, a simulacrum of life.

▲The fact that the neighborhood where the film takes place and after which it's named, Colonia Roma, is the Spanish word for love spelled backwards speaks volumes about the film's multi-layered love present among the family and particularly between the women, which Cuarón and the cast has said is at the center of this story.

▲'Roma' is a vivid and detailed portrait of a maid's journey while working for an upper-middle-class family, set against domestic and political turmoil in 1970s Mexico.

▲Her sister pushed her to audition when the casting crew came to the southern town of Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico, the same state where Libo grew up. She'd never dreamed of being an actress, but her very pregnant sister reportedly urged her to go in her place so that she could tell her what an audition was like.

▲The Oscar win joins the film's Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards wins in the category.

▲For her first time acting, and as someone who doesn't consider herself an actress, Aparicio has already received an Oscar nomination of the highest order for her performance as a maid. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the Critics' Choice Awards and received the New Hollywood Award at HFA.

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A team of more than 40 people worked on the sound mixing and editing for the film, which was especially remarkable as Cuarón decided to shoot on location in Mexico City instead of using a soundstage, and it's earned them not one but two Oscar nominations. Pictured is Ribera de San Cosme Avenue and Lauro Aguirre Street, where the Corpus Christi massacre occurred in 1971.

(Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

▲Clearly this film is nothing like his past work (which includes 'Gravity,' 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,' and 'Y Tu Mamá También') but that may be due to his close connection with the story.

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Eugenio Caballero now has three nominations under his belt, one from each of the Academy Awards, Critics' Choice Awards, and BAFTAs. Cuarón also reportedly gathered 70% of the furniture for the house in the film from different family members all around Mexico. Pictured is 22 Tepeji Street, Colonia Roma—the house where the movie was filmed.

(Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

▲Playing a character that is so close to the mastermind behind the film, a director whose legacy she previously had no idea about, is a scary prospect, but she found she related to the character's perseverance and she also saw her own mother in Cleo, who was similarly a maid. She even met Libo, though the muse kept her story under wraps at first...

▲Adding to the unfortunately short list of Latina actresses in the Oscar nominees is Aparicio's costar, Marina De Tavira, for her performance as Sofía. It's her first ever Oscar nomination as well.

▲He's reportedly been talking about making this film since 2006, and he's stated that 'Roma' is a story that drew out and highlighted emotions that have been present since the moment he decided to be a director.

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Every scene of the film was shot on location, almost exactly where the events depicted took place, or else on sets that were exact replicas. Pictured is 22 Tepeji Street, Colonia Roma. The original house of Cuarón's family is located opposite the filming location house.

(Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

▲Cuarón cast Aparicio's best friend, Nancy Garcia, as Cleo's fellow maid and roommate, Adela, to make their relationship more convincing, but also to make Aparicio feel more comfortable on set.

▲Cuarón won Best Director at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards, and now adds an Oscar to his growing list of awards. This long-brewing project sprouted from a very intimate place, and it seems to have paid off.

▲Cuarón has been quite vocal about his support for streaming services, especially since 2017 when the Cannes Film Festival decided not to let films done exclusively for streaming services participate in the festival, claiming that they want to preserve the traditional way of watching and making films.

▲In 2018, Netflix announced a boycott of the Cannes festival, and 'Roma' instead went to the Venice festival (where it saw great success). Cuarón fights for films made for streaming services largely because they're more accessible to everyone, and he credits part of the international success of his film to its widespread accessibility on the platform.

▲In the history of the Academy Awards, no foreign film has ever won Best Picture, and in its long run only 10 foreign films have ever been nominated for the top award.

▲As if writing, directing, and producing the film weren't enough, Cuarón is also behind the cinematography, which reportedly only happened because the man he wanted couldn't do it.

▲That incredible ending scene at the beach displays Aparicio's genuine fear as she admitted to Variety that she doesn't actually know how to swim and “the ocean's vastness scared me.”

▲'Roma' was chosen by TIME magazine as the best movie of 2018 and described as "an ode to the power of memory, as intimate as a whisper and as vital as the roar of the sea."

▲Along with directing, producing, and co-editing, Cuarón also wrote the film. Aside from the Oscar nods, it's been nominated for Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and at the Critics' Choice Awards.

▲She has said that she wants to continue acting, and despite delivering an Oscar-nominated performance Aparicio insists, "of course I would need to take acting classes."

▲Aparicio is making history as the fourth Latin American to be nominated in Best Actress, but not too long ago she was just a 24-year-old graduate on her way to becoming a school-teacher, living in one room with her family in rural Mexico.

▲While introducing the film at a screening at the New York Film Festival, Guillermo del Toro named 'Roma' one of his top five favorite films of all time. Pedro Almodóvar also endorsed 'Roma' by naming it the best movie of the 2018. That's no small praise.

▲The starring character, Cleo, is closely based on Liboria “Libo” Rodríguez, who raised Cuarón from the time he was nine months old, and who is still alive and a part of his family. He estimates 90% of the scenes are from his memory.

▲When Netflix decided to offer Iberian Spanish subtitles for his Mexican-Spanish language film, Cuarón took great offense, calling it “parochial, ignorant and offensive to Spaniards themselves.”

▲In November 2016, a film crew of 'Roma' was assaulted and robbed while setting up a shot in Mexico City. Reports say crew members were attacked by people posing as local authorities, and several were hospitalized, with their cellphones, wallets, and jewelry stolen.

▲That lengthy, high-tension scene was achieved in just one take. And to make it even more astounding, the doctors and nurses were real, not actors, who added a whole extra layer of authenticity.

▲'Roma' has just won three Oscars: Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Cinematography. The Mexican film is brimming with fascinating trivia, including controversies and intimate details of the plot and cast. Click through to get the scoop on this award-winning film.

'Roma' wins three Oscars, including Best Director

The film earned 10 nominations at this year's Academy Awards

25/02/19 por StarsInsider

MOVIES Oscars

'Roma' has just won three Oscars: Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Cinematography. The Mexican film is brimming with fascinating trivia, including controversies and intimate details of the plot and cast. Click through to get the scoop on this award-winning film.