In 2010 , Cuarón began to develop the film '' Gravity '' , a drama set in space . He was joined by producer David Heyman , with whom Cuarón worked on '' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban '' . Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney , the film was released in the fall of 2013 and opened the 70th Venice International Film Festival in August . On 12 January 2014 , Alfonso accepted the Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Director . The film received ten Academy Award nominations , including Best Picture and Best Director . Cuarón won for Best Directing , becoming the first Latin American to win the award , while he and Mark Sanger received the award for Best Film Editing
70th Venice International Film Festival
70th Venice International Film Festival
Alfonso Cuarón