Guillermo del Toro‘s career honor from the American Society of Cinematographers is … alive!
The Frankenstein director will receive the group’s Board of Governors Award at the 40th anniversary ASC Awards next month. This honor is given to collaborators who champion directors of photography and elevate the visual craft at the heart of cinema.
“Guillermo del Toro has reshaped modern cinema by treating the screen as a living canvas, painting worlds where beauty and terror share the same heartbeat,” ASC President Mandy Walker said. “A truly independent and original visionary of cinematic storytelling, Guillermo continually enchants us with his style and with the visceral experiences he creates for audiences in the cinema.”
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Frankenstein premiered at Venice in late August, drawing a monster 15-minute ovation. It’s two-time Oscar winner del Toro’s longtime passion project — a retelling of Mary Shelley’s genre-defining novel of life and death and what it means to be human, to crave love and seek understanding. Oscar Isaac plays the brilliant but tortured scientist Victor Frankenstein, who embarks on an ego-driven quest to bring new life into this world, resulting in The Creature (Jacob Elordi). Christoph Waltz also stars as Elizabeth’s wealthy uncle, Harlander.
The ASC noted that that the Best Picture Oscar-nominated feature reflects del Toro’s continued commitment to reimagining classic stories through a bold visual lens.
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Del Toro’s first feature, Cronos, premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Critics’ Prize. He has gone on to direct and produce such acclaimed films as The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Mimic (1997), Hellboy (2004), Pacific Rim (2013) and Crimson Peak (2015). He wrote and directed The Shape of Water (2017), which earned 13 Academy Award nominations and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director, along with Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards for Best Director. His first stop‑motion feature, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), co‑directed with Mark Gustafson, won the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Producers Guild of America Award for Best Animated Film.
The 2026 ASC Awards is set for March 8, a week before the Oscars, at The Beverly Hilton.
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