HOLLYWOOD: Director Alfonso Cuaron won the top prize at this year's Directors Guild of America awards on Saturday for space thriller Gravity, ARY News reported.
The award was presented by last year’s winner Ben Affleck in the ceremony held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles. Cuaron is now the frontrunner for the Best Director Oscar after his win for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.
On the occasion Cuaron said that "What youcannot see from up there (in space) is this bizarre experiment of nature that is the human experience."
"That experiment is what directors try to sort out with our films. Thankfully, that experience is as diverse as the films as these film-makers make", he added.
Cuaron had some stiff competition in the category from fellow nominees Steve McQueen for the movie ‘12 Years A Slave, David O. Russell for ‘American Hustle’ and Martin Scorsese ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and Paul Greengrass ‘Captain Phillips’, the latter of whom is the only one of the five who isn't nominated for an Oscar. Replacing him in the Oscar race is "Nebraska" director Alexander Payne.
