Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi/fantasy romance “The Shape of Water” has been named best picture of the year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The win follows industry victories at the Producers and Directors Guild Awards for the film, which led the field overall with 13 nominations this year. Del Toro’s film also took home prizes for original score, production design, and director Sunday night.
“Growing up in Mexico as a kid, I was a big admirer of foreign films, like ‘E.T.,'” del Toro said on stage. “And a few weeks ago, Steven Spielberg said, if you you find yourself there, if you find yourself on the podium, remember that you are part of a legacy, that you are part of a world of filmmakers and be proud of it and I’m very, very proud.”
“I want to dedicate this to every young filmmaker, the youth that is showing us how things are done,” he went on. “Really, they are. In every country in the world. And I was a kid enamored with movies, growing up in Mexico, I thought this could never happen. It happens. And I want to tell you, everyone that is dreaming of using fantasy to tell the stories about the things that are real in the world today, you can do it. This is the door. Kick it open and come in.
“The Shape of Water” won best-film honors from a number of critics organizations in 2017, including groups in Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis, and Phoenix. It also received the Critics’ Choice Award for best picture.
The film, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, grossed $113.7 million worldwide. It was produced for just under $20 million.
The other best-picture nominees were “Call Me by Your Name,” “Darkest Hour,” “Dunkirk,” “Get Out,” “Lady Bird,” “Phantom Thread,” “The Post,” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
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