One of the most talked about films going into this Sunday's Academy Awards is Alfonso Cuaron's Roma, the film has been nominated for a host of awards including Best Director for Cuaron and a Best Picture nomination as well. It's going to likely be a big night for Yalitza Aparicio. She's nominated in the Best Actress category and while she's being praised for her powerful performance, her own emotions while making the film were often much simpler. One scene in particular had the actress feeling quite embarrassed when she was afraid the role would require her to disrobe. According to Aparicio...
Definitely the scene in which I was showering because at first I thought that I would have to be naked and once they explained that I wasn’t then I could get over it, but I was really shy in the beginning.
It's certainly not shocking that Yalitza Aparicio would be embarassed and nervous about the idea of being naked on screen. Roma is the actresses first film and so the entire experience was probably nerve-wracking enough. Something like this added on top of that could easily be too much.
The actual filming of the scene, had she actually needed to be naked, could have been overwhelming as well. In addition to the simple fact that you're being filmed, you have a room full of crew and potentially other cast members on the set who need to be there in order to make the shot happen. Everybody is there, and you are naked.
Luckily, Yalitza Aparicio did not have to disrobe for Roma, the scene in which her character takes a shower is shot from the neck up, and while she probably wasn't fully clothed, she didn't need to be naked.
Aparicio may have assumed her performance was going to require nudity as she tells People, as a scene just prior to her in the shower included male nudity, something we don't see nearly as often in film as the female variety. If Roma was going to go there, it certainly wouldn't have been surprising to see the female star naked as well.
While Yalitza Aparicio may have felt embarrassed getting ready to make Roma, it's nothing compared to the emotions she'll feel if she hears her name called during the Oscars this Sunday. It will be very interesting to see how Roma does at the actual awards ceremony. The film was nominated for 10 awards, which clearly means it's a front runner in the minds of many in the Academy. However, the fact that the movie was made by Netflix, and was not a traditional theatrical release, might still be a problem for the largely old school organization.
Regardless of whether or not she wins on Sunday, there's a good chance Yalitza Aparicio will become much more comfortable making movies, she's going to be in high demand.
