Alfonso Cuarón Becomes The First Latino Director To Ever Win An Oscar; Watch Acceptance Speech Here! [VIDEO]

Alfonso Cuarón hs made a sweep of the Academy Awards: his film "Gravity" took out a total of seven awards, the most of any film throughout the evening. And for his Academy Award for Best Director, he has become the first Latino int he history of the Oscars to ever win in this category. Having won every other major directing award in this year's awards season, Alfonso Cuarón has truly been the director of the year.

"Wow, thank you. Thanks to the Academy. Like any other human endeavor, making a film can be a transformative experience, and I want to thank Gravity because for many of us involved in this film, it was definitely a transformative experience," Cuarón said during his Oscar acceptance speech. "And it’s good, because it took so long that if not, it would be like a waste of time. What really sucks is that for a lot of these people, that transformation was wisdom; for me, it was just the color of my hair. I want to share this with all these wise people who made this movie happen: my amazing son and co-writer Jonás Cuarón. Sandra Bullock. Sandy, you’re Gravity. You are the soul, the heart of the film. You’re the most amazing collaborator and one of the best people I ever met. George Clooney, for your absolute trust. David Heyman, Chivo and Tim Webber for making this film happen. The wise guys of Warner Bros., the wise people at Warner Bros., Kevin Tsujihara, Sue Kroll, Greg Silverman, Lynn Harris, Chris De Faria. And the film took so long that we went through two different administrations, so I have to honor as well Alan Horn and Jeff Robinov. Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro, Gabriela Rodriguez , Steve Rabineau, Henry Holmes, Jim Berkus, Tracey Jacobs, Cristina, Sheherazade, Bu, Olmo. And this is for you mom [In Spanish]. Bye guys."

"Gravity" took out the awards for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, Best Achievement in Sound Editing, Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Editing, and, of course, Best Director. The film was also a tremendous box office hit, making over $500 million at the international box office already. All and all it has been quite the incredible year for one of Mexico's greatest directors.

Alfonso Cuarón wrote "Gravity" with his son Jonás. Born in Mexico, Cuarón studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). However, Cuarón didn't finish he degree: he dropped out after controversy emerged because he released his short film "Vengence Is Mine" commercially without school permission. He is known for such remarkable films as "Sólo con tu pareja," "A Little Princess," "Great Expectations," "Y Tu Mamá También," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and "Children of Men."

During his backstage interview with the world press, Cuarón talked about his feelings as the first Latino director to ever win an Oscar. See the full transcript below.

Q. So you have stated that this is not a Mexican movie, actually that it doesn't give much Mexican culture. But today you made history in Mexico. You became the first director to win an award. What does it mean to Mexico to win this award?

A. I'm Mexican, you know, so I hope that, like anything, some Mexicans were rooting for me to win this thing. What I'm saying is that I don't think that there's enough attention being given to amazing expressions of Mexican culture that are happening right now in Mexico. I really appreciate and I'm really grateful with all this support that I've been feeling from Mexico, but I just ‑‑ I would love if that same support is given to some other films that are coming out of there with Mexican filmmakers, shot in Mexico, and with Mexican subject matters.

Q. So tell me, what exactly were you thinking at that moment right before they announced your name? And then also talk about how special this is, because you, essentially, made this movie with your boy, your son.

A. What was I thinking? I was thinking of you, David, because you jinxed me many times. You were, like, jinxed, and I said yeah, yeah, whatever. But the thing that's so fantastic is that this is something that Jonás Cuarón began, my son, and he really injected a new energy in my life, in my work. And I'm so happy that now he's celebrating the way that filmmakers like to celebrate, that he's shooting his film in Baja.

Q. The first time that you were on stage tonight, you didn't give any speech. Were you risking some uncomfortable conversations if you didn't get back on stage a second time to thank your family and everybody else or were you confident that you would have another chance?

A. No. I mean, you don't think so much about the other chance because when you're so used to lose, you don't think you're going to have another break. But it was good that a lot of great people that were around that make this film happen, particularly from the editorial standpoint, were acknowledged. Part of the editorial thing, that yes, I said it before that I think is very important is that we are serving performances, and I don't think that enough was said about Sandra's performance.

Q. You've got an Oscar in each hand. How does that feel?

A. Balanced. Heavy. No, it's fantastic. Look, what is fantastic of this evening is that this has been a very long process. And, as I said in the speech, yes, it has been a very transformative process for a lot of folks involved in the film. And this just marks a closure, and I'm so grateful for ‑‑ I'm grateful with GRAVITY and these and the fact that some other members of the artistic team that made this film happen were celebrated. It's a joy.

Q. Despite the pioneering special effects, the focus of the film is always on its human characters. Was it difficult at all to find that balance to direct your actors while overseeing the technical side at the same time?

A. Well, I was surrounded by an amazing group of people that they were really supervising that. The amazing thing actually is not so much the visual effects aspect, but the surprising thing was Sandra. That under the conditions that she was performing, the relationship actor/director was as if we were doing just a scene at the dinner table. So there was no obstacle around all the physicality, all the strain, all the complicated amount of cues that required ‑‑ and the amazing amount of make‑believe that it was required. It's like she had to absorb absolutely everything. Her power of abstraction was fantastic. And no, not because I did a good job, it's because Sandra is amazing.

Q. I just get so excited to see him up there. You were talking about moments like this bringing Mexicans together, and it totally do. In Twitter you have become a trending topic in Mexico, everybody is cheering for you. They are even saying Viva Mexico Cuarónes. What does it mean to you?

A. I'm so proud of that. I think in Mexican, more specifically in [inaudible], with my common sense, whatever that is. And the fact of having ‑‑ if I did GRAVITY, at the end, what I've said is that this doesn't represent Mexican culture, if it makes any difference for the film industry in Mexico, that doesn't mean that it's a product of a Mexican who actually developed in Mexico and everything, his way of thinking, is completely influenced and dictated by that upbringing. So I'm happy to hear that. .

Q. Could you just say what the critical success of the artists, I know you like to call them, of the visual effects, of the music and the sound, what that says about the strength of the British film industry?

A. Well, it's very obvious. Definitely the amazing know‑how quality and sophistication of the British film industry made this film happen. I'm talking specifically about companies like Framestore or the amazing crew that I worked with. This is the third film that I have done in the U.K. I have done more films in the U.K. than in any other country in the world. But again, two things is the British film industry and then is the British film culture. And the amazing thing is that, and the great thing is that the British film culture is in as good shape as the American industry right now. And it's obviously, like Mexico, more venues, more support and more incentives, I think.

Watch his acceptance speech below: