Guillermo del Toro, the maestro of Hollywood, is a director whose imagination knows no bounds. Del Toro, hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico, made waves with his 1993 Mexican-American co-production Cronos, a haunting vampire tale that clinched the International Critics’ Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, catapulting him to international acclaim.

Del Toro is a virtuoso of visual storytelling, creating awe-inspiring and spine-chilling films with a profound emotional resonance. His English-language offerings include the comic book adaptations Blade II (2002) and Hellboy (2004) along with its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). His 2006 masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth, a fantastical drama, won three Academy Awards and was hailed as a cinematic tour de force.

Del Toro’s films are an ode to the Gothic and the macabre, with his signature baroque aesthetic and a deep-rooted fascination with history and mythology. His latest creation, The Shape of Water (2017), a romantic fantasy, bagged four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro. With a storytelling style that circumvents genres and defies conventions, del Toro has become one of the most extraordinary voices in contemporary cinema. His rare talent for pushing the limits of visual effects and creature design, conjuring up cinematic worlds that are both enchanting and ominous, is what sets him apart from the rest.