Oscar winning director Guillermo del Toro is set to receive an even more exclusive award. Del Toro has been selected by the Visual Effects Society to receive this year's VES Award for Creative Excellence. The award will be presented on March 8, during the 20th Annual VES Awards, which also marks the organization’s twenty-fifth anniversary.
The VES Award for Creative Excellence recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to film in respect to visual and special effects. The award is presented by the society’s Board of Directors, who praise Del Toro as a “fiercely inventive storyteller”. The award will honor Del Toro’s ability to blend breathtaking visuals with compelling narrative stories, creating his unique cinematic style. VES Board Chair Lisa Cooke complimented Del Toro by saying:
“An exemplary talent, he has consistently elevated not just the technical aspect of visual effects, but also the emotional. Guillermo is an amazing creative force and a defining voice in our global community, and his body of work is a rich source of inspiration for future generations of artists and innovators. For Guillermo’s outstanding mastery of his craft, we are proud to honor him with the prestigious VES Award for Creative Excellence.”
Prior to his work as a director, Del Toro studied under renowned makeup effects artists Dick Smith and spent ten years as a special-effects makeup designer, a career that would prove useful as he broke into his directing career. Del Toro opened his directing and producing company, Necropia, in the 1980s. Later in his career, Del Toro founded another production company, Tequila Gang, which he would use to produce Pan’s Labyrinth.
Del Toro has been the recipient of many awards over the years, most notably with his Academy Award Best Picture win for The Shape of Water, for which he also won Best Director. Del Toro will return to the Academy Awards this year with another Best Picture nomination for Nightmare Alley. His most notable directing credits include Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pacific Rim, and Crimson Peak. Currently, his animated film Pinocchio is in post-production and set to release by December 2022.
Del Toro joins a list of well-renowned and honored artists, including award-winning creators David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Sheena Duggal, and Robert Legato. The award will be presented to Del Toro on March 8, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.