(Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
October 9, 1954: Guillermo Del Toro was born in Guadalajara, the capital of a Mexican state called Jalisco. Today, that child is an Academy Award-winning director, and one of the most visionary and entertaining contemporary filmmakers, who is able to bring imaginary worlds to life and make his viewers live in them for two and a half hours.
His most famous movies include Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Pacific Rim (2013), Crimson Peak (2015) and the more recent The Shape of Water (2017), which won an Academy Award for Best Picture.
(Photo: Fox Searchlight/Kerry Hayes)
During his speech, the director said: ‘I want to dedicate this to every young filmmaker, the youth that is showing us how things are done, really they are, in every country in the world. I was a kid enamoured with movies. Growing up in Mexico, I thought this could never happen. It happened and I want to tell you, everyone that is dreaming of a parable of using genre of fantasy to tell the stories about the things that are real in the world today, you can do it. This is a door. Kick it open and come in.’
We celebrate the birthday of not only a great filmmaker, but also of an inspiring person, who uses his art and voice to promote inclusiveness, hope, acceptance and love, fulfilling the true role of movies and cinema.
Happy 54th birthday to Guillermo Del Toro.
By Sara Di Nardo