Filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón’s masterpiece Roma swept last night’s Platino Awards, which celebrate the Ibero-American film industry.

The Gran Tlachco Theater at the Xcaret theme park in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, hosted the star-studded event in which Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical film won awards for direction, cinematography, screenplay, sound and best film.

Roma was nominated for nine Platino awards and although Cuarón was unable to attend, lead actresses Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira and several other members of the team were on hand to accept the awards.

Receiving the best screenplay award, co-producer Nicolás Celis recalled that Cuarón kept the “beautiful” screenplay close to his chest, even at the start of the filming process. ” . . . When we read it through we realized its magnitude and relevance.”

Co-producer Gabriela Rodríguez said, “This was a movie that cost us the world to make. We made it with a lot of love. And we want to thank our creator in all senses, Alfonso.”

Roma is set in early 1970s Mexico City and is based on the hardships of Cuarón’s indigenous childhood nanny. Earlier this year, Roma won three Oscars, including best director and cinematography for the filmmaker, as well as Mexico’s first-ever victory in the foreign-language category.

After last night’s victory, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that “not only is Roma Cuarón’s most personal film to date, but it has also opened up an important conversation about Mexico’s social class divide as it sheds light on the struggles of indigenous and working-class people.”

Source: Milenio (sp), The Hollywood Reporter (en)