Guillermo del Toro

“SUEÑOS, CRIATURAS FANTÁSTICAS Y MUCHO ESFUERZO”

“DREAMS, FANTASTIC CREATURES AND A LOT OF EFFORT”

Julio César Castillo

Who would say that a Mexican would be considered as best director and best film producer in the most important famous nominations in the world, in a foreign country, and from Guadalajara, Jalisco? The Mexican pride being exalted and recognized worldwide because of one person, a Mexican, challenging and taking down those stereotypes that insult our culture, our history. A person who surprised and impressed millions of people, with simple themes of fantasy, monsters, and the dark side of life, just for being a Mexican.

A common person who became a creator of fantastic and unimaginable worlds, creatures, situations, that can take any shape or form, that can captivate anyone, to even feel one with the character. Situations, where you relate them with daily events, and even with your personal life, and even teach you a lesson that you wouldn’t ever imagine. A person, that teaches us that we are the ones that put limits on our minds and that the conviction and resilience in your dreams can take you to the top of the world.

A child that began his dream by filming toys and imagining fantastic worlds, that now stands as the best director in cinematography. It clearly wasn’t easy, but he teaches us that if you dream enough, and try to achieve it, taking high risks in spite of the consequences to achieve it, it can take you where you always dreamt to be one day. And that person is a Mexican, someone that knows that life is the most valuable thing that you will ever experiment, a blessing, and an opportunity to do all want you want. And that person, that Mexican, is Guillermo del Toro.

"THE BEGINNING OF A FANTASTIC FUTURE"

Julio César Castillo

The moment that is defined as the very beginning of a bright future that awaited him, of how a child’s play or a way to spend time could soon become in a successful career, was when he was born… Guillermo del Toro Gómez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, on October 9 of 1964. He was raised in a very strict Catholic family. When he was eight years old, he began experimenting with his father's Super 8 camera, making short films with his own toys, and in that way, his interest for cinematography showed up.

His family was quite curious, and it may describe the way of thinking of Del Toro in a special way. His mother was a poet who also read the tarot, while his father was a businessman. Del Toro grew up in a big house with strange pets such as snakes, ravens and white rats, with which he sometimes slept curled up, which can be also an indicator for including beasts and monsters with physical variations of these animals. He studied at the Center for Film Research and Studies in Guadalajara. He spent ten years in makeup design, and also formed his own company, “Necropia”, before becoming an executive producer of his first film at twenty-one. He was also co-founder of the Guadalajara Film Festival, and created a production company called “Tequila Gang”.

At that same age, still young and with his great mind and creativity growing, he produced his first feature film, called “Doña Herlinda and her son”. He later featured "Cronos" in 1993, which tells the story of an atypical old vampire, who does not want eternal life, and his granddaughter who hides him in a trunk, and this was the only tape he directed in Mexico. Unfortunately, in 1998, his father was kidnapped in Mexico. After obtaining his release by paying a ransom, he decided to move from Mexico to the United States, but that decision soon would become a new and fresh start of something unbelievable in his life, from a kid who filmed his toys, to a successful director and producer, that would become famous...

"A FRESH START IN AN UNKNOWN LAND..."

Arturo Pacheco Silva

"I remember that the worst experience of my life, even worse than the kidnapping of my father, was to roll 'Mimic' (go, 1997), because what was passing to me and to the movie it was much more illogical than a kidnapping, that is brutal, but at least certain rules exist. When I remember now 'Mimic', which I see is the pain of an incredibly defective creature that might have been beautiful. "-Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo Caught the attention of Hollywood with his movies after he filmed Cronos (1993) he received a lot offers and finally he decides for Mimic(1997)to make his debut in Hollywood.

He suffered a lot of problems... First, he worked for brothers Weinstein that didn´t care about directors opinions, and in a moment, they wanted to proceed without Guillermo's participation. But fortunately, we counted with Guillermo.

Guillermo could use one of his marks that were the monsters, but the problems and limited resources didn’t let him explode and express all his talent, as people said he did the best he could in the situation.

Finally, the idea was good but all these aspects made the movie were too irregular and bad, but for Guillermo, it was just the beginning.

"TRIUMPHS OF THE MEXICAN CREATOR"

Yahira Marsel

He has been recognized for his awards because of his long and recognized cinematographic career and also directing a lot of movies and editing them, we can see how he improve and won two Oscars this year; for best director and for the best movie “the shape of water”

Also, we can see his journey since he was young and how he became the man that has won all this awards and acknowledgments, and even of his culture he stayed strong and didn’t care what people said before his actual recognition.

As he said: “For me, cinema consists of understanding life through storytelling. It is the possibility to understand more what we are, where we are and why. The great truth that contains all narrative is manifested in cinema through sight and hearing. You get emotionally to have an experience when you get enough into the movie. You have the opportunity to travel to places you've never been and you know people you would never meet. Cinema is the closest thing to magic”.

"EL TORO IN MEXICO"

Victor Manuel Hernández López

Guillermo Del Toro´s career in Mexico contains a lot of effort by himself to get ahead. He started studying cinematography in the Centro de Investigación y Estudios Cinematográficos in Guadalajara. At an early age, he started producing and directing shorts and low budget movies like "Doña Herlinda y Su Hijo" (1985), Doña Lupe (1986), Geometría (1987) and Cronos (1997). This early life experiences in Mexico helped him for sure to form his own distinctive style that he is presenting and being applauded now in Hollywood.

Del Toro had to work very hard to produce these short movies. A clear example is that he had to hypothecate his house in order to get 2 million dollars for his movie Cronos, the reward was the Mercedes-Benz award in the Cannes festival.

Sadly, thanks to an event that impacted so much in his life that is the kidnapping of his father in Mexico in 1998 he decided to live in the US with all his family and this is the place in which is currently working in his projects.

"THE MEXICAN PRIDE"

Victor Manuel Hernández López

Guillermo Del Toro is the human proof of persistence, he started working on very low budget short films that often had very little to no recognition. His fascination with fantastic creatures helped him develop a distinctive style in his films that Hollywood seems to like very much. His most recent success, The shape of water, was very applauded in the US. Back when he was in Mexico nobody recognized him internationally or even nationally right now he is seen as a genius in fantasy/science fiction films in Hollywood.

His work is characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales and horror, with an effort to infuse visual or poetic beauty. He is able to “see the dark side of the human nature, fantasy and terror”, and present them inside his films.

All this success that was achieved by him was achieved with a lot of effort and dedication that cost him many hours of detailing elements in his movies, one thing is for sure he clearly puts up the name of Mexico.