Now we cannot deny the popularity of Netflix. "Roma" earned 10 nominations total, including best director, best original screenplay and best cinematography. The film's Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira also earned individual honors in the lead actress and supporting actress categories, respectively.
Netflix had previously received 15 Academy Award nominations and two wins since 2014, but never in the best picture category. The black-and-white, autobiographical drama not only received the streamer's first best picture nomination, but also nabbed Netflix's first noms for best director, actress in a leading role for Yalitza Aparicio, original screenplay, foreign-language film, production design, sound editing and sound mixing. Marina de Tavira was also nominated for best supporting actress, while Cuaron received a nod for cinematography — but these are not firsts for Netflix.
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In another first, Roma is the first best picture nominee for which there are no box office grosses. Overall, Roma earned a total of 10 nominations, while Netflix nabbed 15 in all. Roma is the fifth movie to be nominated for both best foreign language film and best picture in the same year. The previous four — 1969's Z, 1998's Life Is Beautiful, 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and 2012's Amour — won for the foreign-language film but not for best picture.
“It’s a movie centered on a domestic worker of indigenous origin who’s being celebrated. That’s what gives me the most pleasure,” Cuaron told Mexico City local radio program “Aristegui Noticias.” Aparicio, 25, who had never acted professionally, said she was “humbled and honored." “As a daughter of a domestic worker and an indigenous woman myself, I am proud this movie will help those of us who feel invisible be seen,” she said in a statement.
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Truly, Netflix has a chance to succeed where Amazon failed with Manchester by the Sea in 2017, and at last bring the much-coveted Best Picture honor to a streaming service.
