Alfonso Cuarón’s gravity-defying awards season continues with some big-time recognition Down Under…

The 52-year-old Mexican director’s latest film, the Sandra Bullock-starrer Gravity, has received three AACTA Award nominations from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.

Cuarón is nominated in the AACTA International Award for Best Direction category for helming the blockbuster-hit 3D sci-fi thriller.

He’s up against Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), David O. Russell (American Hustle), Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) and Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby).

Gravity is also nominated in the AACTA International Award for Best Film category, where it faces-off against 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Captain Phillips and Ron Howard’s Formula One drama Rush.

The AACTA International Awards will be held in Los Angeles on January 10th, 2014.