Guillermo del Toro has won his fair share of awards — 27 to be exact, not counting the multiple awards his films have picked up for cinematography, art direction, makeup, and costume design. And now he can go ahead and add another one to the list. Yes, the Master of dark fantasy has been named International Filmmaker of the Year by CineEurope.
What does that mean? For starters, CineEurope is one of largest convention and trade show for the movie theater industry, which brings together movie distribution and exhibition professionals from all over Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Plus, it’s run by the media conglomerate behind The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, and Billboard magazines, which means we’re not talking about minor league nickle and dime stuff here.
Granted it’s no Academy Award, but its certainly nice to have the fawning adulation of the people in charge of bringing films to general audiences. It may not be the most glamorous job, but dammit, it’s important. So, congratulations Sr. del Toro: few filmmakers have been able to straddle the high and the low, art and pulp, with such grace and mastery of form. I mean, how many directors have gotten love from Cannes and Cinemex in their lifetimes?
CineEurope will be taking place in Barcelona from June 22-25. For his part, del Toro is putting the finishing touches on Crimson Peak, which will be his first return to darker, more personal material since the 2006 critical blockbuster Pan’s Labyrinth.