The wait’s been long. It’s been five years since Alfonso Cuarón’s last movie (Oscar winner Gravity) and seventeen since his last project set in Mexico (the OG Gael-Diego classic Y tu mamá también). But finally we’re getting his long-awaited new film. And while there was talk a few months back that Roma could premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (which would’ve added some much needed Latin American fare) the fact that Cuarón’s latest was acquired by Netflix threw a wrench in the works — the streaming giant and the French fest do not see eye to eye when it comes to distribution details. Thankfully, the New York Film Festival has no such qualms as it just announced Roma as the Centerpiece of the 56th New York Film Festival.
We’ve known very little about the Mexico City-set project other than it’s Cuarón’s most personal to date. Allegedly based on his own teenage years it is set in the 1970s during the student protests that ended in violence and centers on a middle-class family whose center is quietly and unassumingly held by its beloved live-in nanny and housekeeper (Yalitza Aparicio). “I am honored Roma has been selected for the Centerpiece slot at this year’s New York Film Festival,” said Cuarón. “NYFF has a longstanding history of celebrating meaningful and compelling filmmaking and it felt right to return to the festival with Roma – an incredibly personal, illuminating, and transformative project for me.”
Talked as its “New York City premiere” suggests the Cuarón title may be showing up at other festivals before it descends on the Big Apple (so keep an eye out for other announcements Toronto-dwellers!). Moreover, the fact that Netflix notes that the film “will launch globally and in theaters later this year” means that while it may be heading to the streaming service later this year, there may be cities lucky enough to get it on the big screen when it’s finally unleashed out into the world. So, keep your fingers crossed!
The New York Film Festival runs September 28 – October 14, 2018. Tickets go on sale September 9.