A Life in Pictures: Alfonso Cuarón

Alfonso Cuarón, versatile and award-winning Mexican filmmaker, shared the importance of “honouring and serving the material”.

Cuarón stepped into the international spotlight with his ground-breaking erotic road film Y Tu Mamá También, attracting two BAFTA nominations along the way. He gained another for global smash Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and won a Film Not in the English Language BAFTA for producing Pan’s Labyrinth in 2007.

At the packed BAFTA event he told interviewer Maria Delgado that when he started out in film Mexican cinema felt at a standstill.

“At that point, by the end of the seventies, Mexican cinema almost disappeared and the production was very limited,” he said.

“I was very lucky. I benefited from a moment where there was room to bring back continuity from the old masters (who weren’t so old!) and there started to be an opportunity for people to do their first films.”

Cuarón’s ability to produce powerful and provocative cinema has put him at the forefront of modern Mexican film.

He’s able to flex his film-making skills across many different genres. Cuarón’s critically acclaimed and award-winning work includes adult comedy, gritty drama, children’s fantasy and apocalyptic sci-fi.

In the interview Cuarón spoke in depth about his early work in Mexico, his decision to emigrate to the United States and his high-profile time on the Harry Potter franchise.

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