Alejandro González Iñárritu's 2016 Academy Award Speech

Alejandro González Iñárritu delivered a speech upon winning the Academy Award for Best Director at the 88th Academy Awards on 28 February 2016.

Transcript
Gracias a la Academia.

Thank you to the Academy. Um: I can't believe this is happening. I– I– it's amazing to receive this award tonight. Uh, but, it's much more beautiful for me to share it with, uh, all the talented and crazy cast and colleagues and crew members along the continent that made this film possible. To all and each of you, I thank you from my heart.

Uh, Leo: you are the revenant. I thank you for the integrity of your soul. Your soul; your art; your life. Tom Hardy, all the Native American cast, all the English American cast: I thank you very much for your trust, for your talent. Um: I have to thank [unclear] thank you for bringing the light on this journey. And I want to thank to, too, Arnon Milchan: thank you for your unconditional support. My producer, Eric Barnes, Steve Rory, and all the people at Fox and New Regency.

I– I am very lucky to be here tonight, okay? But unfortunately, many others haven't had the same luck. There's a line in the film that says, Glass to his mixed-race son: "They don't listen to you. They just see the color of your skin." So what a great opportunity to our generation to really liberate ourselves from all prejudice and, you know, uh– thrive in thinking, and make sure for once and forever that the color of your skin become as irrelevant a the length of our hair.

This is for my father. Thank you very much.