- Title: Cuaron wants you to see "Roma" on big screen, but only Netflix would fund it
- Date: 30th August 2018
- Summary: VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 30, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DIRECTOR ALFONSO CUARON AND "ROMA" FILM TEAM ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF JOURNALIST TAKING PHOTOS WITH MOBILE PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR, ALFONSO CUARON, SAYING: "This film will be distributed in many territories both on the big screen as well as platforms. I find it a little unfair when you think a
- Embargoed: 13th September 2018 17:15
- Keywords: Venice Film Festival director Alfonso Cuaron Roma the movie Netflix movie distribution Mexico
- Location: VENICE, ITALY AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: VENICE, ITALY AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA0028VDQAFH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Alfonso Cuaron's new film, a black-and-white family drama with no stars is a world away, literally and metaphorically, from his last one, "Gravity", the Sandra Bullock/George Clooney visual effects-heavy space extravaganza.
But the Oscar-winning director says he wants both to be experienced on the big screen, even if he made "Roma", which premieres in Venice on Thursday (August 30), for streaming service Netflix.
"We know perfectly well that this kind of a film, a film in Spanish, black and white and in the Mixtec language, a drama and not a genre film, it is very difficult for these films to find the spaces where they can get big exposure," Cuaron told a pre-premiere news conference, meaning traditional Hollywood studios were unlikely to fund that type of movie, even one by an A-list director.
While it has none of the breathtaking science-fiction shots that made "Gravity" a must-see-at-the-cinema movie, "Roma" is shot in the crisp, large format digital 65mm format, with long, cinematic tracking shots of a re-created 1970 Mexico City and dramatic land and sea-scapes.
"Roma" will have a theatrical release, but the fact that it will stream online at the same time made it ineligible to compete at the even more prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May due to France's insistence on a long time-lag before movies are available for home-viewing.
Based on his real childhood, the film focuses on the women in Cuaron's life at that time: his comfortably middle class mother and the family's two maids, in a country confronted by vast inequalities and violent unrest.
Writing the screenplay made Cuaron see his nanny, Libo, as a complex woman for the first time, the director said.
Making the movie marked a first for the two women portraying the maids, too - it was the first time they appeared in front of the camera.
"Roma" is one of 21 films competing for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival that runs from Aug. 29 to Sept 8. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None