Alfonso Cuarón Wins Best Director for 'Roma' at the 2019 Oscars: 'Being Here Doesn't Get Old'

Alfonso Cuarón beat out Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman), Adam McKay (Vice) and Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War)

Published on February 24, 2019 11:31 PM

Everything’s coming up Roma!

Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for Roma at Sunday’s 2019 Oscars. He beat out fellow nominees Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman), Adam McKay (Vice) and Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War).

After hugging presenter Guillermo del Toro, Cuarón, 57, took the stage to accept the statuette at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

“Thank you so much,” he said. “Being here doesn’t get old. A hug from Guillermo del Toro doesn’t get old.”

“I want to thank so many people,” he began, shouting out the film’s stars Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira.

“They are the film — they are truly the film,” he said.

Be sure to check out PEOPLE’s full Oscars coverage to get the latest news on film’s biggest night.

Cuarón also thanked the Academy for “recognizing a film centered around an indigenous woman,” a “character that has historically been relegated in the background in cinema.”

“As artists, our job is to look where others don’t,” he said, adding that the job becomes “much more important in times when we are being encouraged to look away.”

Cuarón has been winning big for his Netflix drama this awards season, also picking up directing honors at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. Roma, along with The Favourite, is the Oscars‘ most nominated film this year with a total of 10 nods, including recognition in the best picture category. Along with Best Director, it took home Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.

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Cuarón based Roma on his experience growing up in Mexico City and examines the country’s social, class and racial dynamics. He dedicated the film to his real-life nanny, Liboria “Libo” Rodríguez, who played a significant role in raising him.

The 91st Academy Awards were broadcast live from Los Angeles on Sunday.