Roma's Yalitza Aparicio is working on her first movie since her 2019 Oscar nomination

Alfonso Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical film Roma was one of the most talked-about films of 2018, with its star Yalitza Aparicio going from teacher to Oscar nominee. She even made history as the first Indigenous Mexican woman to be nominated for Best Actress. But instead of major Hollywood directors fighting to get her on their next project, Aparicio unfortunately went through the experience that many actors of color go through in the industry, with scarce opportunities being offered to her. Thankfully, Aparicio will be back on the big screen soon.

On Wednesday, Mexican publication El Universal announced that Aparicio will star in Presences, a horror movie directed by Luis Mandoki. According to El Universal, the film tells the story of a man (played by Damián Alcázar) who decides to move to a cabin in the woods after his wife dies–but, as we know from pretty much every movie about a cabin in the woods (including The Cabin In The Woods), strange things await there. The film’s set in Tlalpujahua, Mexico, a town that, according to El Universal, was flooded in the 20th century, causing the deaths of many. The lore is that their spirits still haunt the forest. No details have been shared yet on who Aparicio’s character is.

Since her 2019 Oscar nomination, Aparicio has been using her platform to become one of Mexico’s “foremost activists for its historically marginalized people,” IndieWire reported last year. The actress spoke to the publication about her goal to create a larger access to cinemas in marginalized communities. “I come from a community where there’s no movie theater, and as a consequence the population, especially the children that grow up those communities, has less of an interest in the cinematic arts,” she said. “My objective in my career is to give visibility to all of us who have been kept in the dark for so long. The acting projects I’m working on are moving slowly because I’m putting all my efforts in not being pigeonholed because of my appearance. There are many people who have the disposition to help change things. We’ve had enough of people being typecast in certain roles or characters based on the color of their skin. We have a complicated job, because these things can’t be changed overnight but hopefully we can show people that the only limits are within us.”

[via IndieWire]