The BFI today announces full details of its forthcoming GUILLERMO DEL TORO season, taking place at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX throughout May in celebration of del Toro being awarded with the BFI’s highest honour, a BFI Fellowship. This includes eight in-person appearances by del Toro with three introductions, four Q&As at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX and an In Conversation event on 8th May as a centrepiece to the season. The Fellowshiprecognises his extraordinary contribution to film and the distinctive artistry that runs through his work across animation and live action, including his most recent multiple Academy Award® and BAFTA-winning adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN.
Fusing fantasy, fairy tales and politics, Guillermo del Toro combines a deep humanism with a striking visual sensibility to elevate the artform. A superlative visual artist closely associated with the gothic, horror and fantasy genres, del Toro frequently explores themes where his protagonists’ question and defy authority and often examines the nightmares of the past, often employing history to explore the traumatic passage from childhood to maturity. After establishing himself as one of the foremost artists in contemporary Mexican cinema with CRONOS, del Toro now ranks as one of the world’s most distinctive filmmakers of the modern era. Equally at home on Hollywood and Spanish-language productions, del Toro revels in the collaborative process, while his aesthetic sensibility is matched by his affinity for actors. Achieving critical acclaim and commercial success in equal measure, the highly decorated director is also known for his support of and passion for animation and, as an impassioned cinephile, his role in the restoration and preservation of Mexico’s rich cinematic legacy.
The BFI will award Guillermo del Toro his BFI Fellowship at the annual BFI Chair’s dinner, hosted by BFI Chair Jay Hunt, OBE in London on 6 May. Guillermo del Toro will visit the BFI National Archive on 5 May to take a close look at the national collection and the work of archivists and conservators at the Conservation Centre. FRANKENSTEIN, having just won 3 BAFTA Awards and 3 Academy Awards® for Makeup and Hair Styling, Costume Design and Production Design, is a testament to del Toro’s artistic vision and how this vision permeates throughout each of his projects. del Toro will share his passion for these crafts and dive into the BFI’s Screencraft collections, including various original production and costume designs. On 7 May del Toro will also host a masterclass with students from BFI Film Academy.
A highlight of the BFI retrospective season will be a special public event following his BFI Fellowship bestowal; GUILLERMO DEL TORO IN CONVERSATION at BFI Southbank on Friday 8 May, where the multi–BAFTA and Academy Award-winning filmmaker, one of the most distinctive voices in modern cinema, will be on stage at to discuss his long and illustrious career. Alongside a strong association with gothic, horror and fantasy, del Toro’s abiding passion for cinema history and commitment to animation are hallmarks of his filmography. At this richly illustrated event, he will talk about his work, process and incredible career. Following the In Conversation, del Toro will introduce a screening of his debut feature, CRONOS.
The director will also join us on 9 May to introduce his Best Picture Oscar-winner THE SHAPE OF WATER at BFI Southbank and for Q&As following screenings of CRIMSON PEAK at BFI Southbank and PACIFIC RIM at BFI IMAX. On 10 May he will return to introduce FRANKENSTEIN at BFI IMAX and for Q&As following screenings of PAN’S LABYRINTH and an event celebrating his hit animated show TALES OF ARCADIA at BFI Southbank. In the season we are also presenting the original and director’s cut versions of MIMIC and NIGHTMARE ALLEY and the subsequently released black and white version, NIGHTMARE ALLEY: VISION OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT plus two of del Toro’s early Mexican shorts, GEOMETRIA and DOÑA LUPA.
As part of the celebration of Guillermo del Toro, BFI Distribution is re-releasing CRONOS (1992) in cinemas in the UK and Ireland from 15 May (Press screenings start from 16 April). Fresh and bracing, del Toro’s feature debut announced the arrival of a strikingly original cinematic voice. Antiques dealer Jesús Gris discovers an ancient mechanical scarab artefact but is unaware of the power it holds. While the parasite inside the device grants eternal life to its new host, it also causes an aversion to daylight and an unquenchable thirst for human blood. With its interest in family and the true nature of horror, CRONOS set a course for things to come in del Toro’s career. Inventively employing vampirism in its assessment of the relationship between the USA and Mexico, this darkly comic film remains a highlight within the filmmaker’s incredible body of work. The BFI previously released CRONOS on BFI Blu-ray, restored at 4K resolution using the original 35mm camera negative, with the supervision of director del Toro.
UK-wide audiences will also have an opportunity to watch some of del Toro’s favourite films with an exclusive subscription collection, Guillermo del Toro Selects onBFI Player. The collection will present thirteen classic UK and international titles personally selected by del Toroincluding EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960), NOSFERATU (1922), VIRIDIANA (1961), MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003), LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND (1997) and LE BELE ET LA BETE (1946) to celebrate the BFI Season and BFI Fellowship. Guillermo del Toro Selects will be available to subscribers throughout the UK from May 2026.
Other events in the BFI season will include a 25 and Under Introduction to Guillermo del Toro on 13 May, a Guillermo del Toro themed Quiz on 27 May and a special Guillermo del Toro Sip and Paint on 23 May. Famously recording his art and ideas through beautifully illustrated notebooks, in this fun painting session audiences are invited to take inspiration from del Toro’s artistic vision to create their own masterpiece to take home. Acrylic paint and mini canvases will be provided.
Full details of Guillermo del Toro’s BFI Fellowship can be found in a press release here.
FULL DETAILS OF THE FILMS SCREENING IN THE SEASON, CURATED BY BFI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROGRAMME AND AUDIENCES JASON WOOD AND BFI HEAD OF CINEMA PROGRAMME JUSTIN JOHNSON:
● CRONOS (1992) – Antiques dealer Jesús Gris discovers an ancient mechanical scarab artefact but is unaware of the power it holds. While the parasite inside the device grants eternal life to its new host, it also causes an aversion to daylight and an unquenchable thirst for human blood. Inventively employing vampirism in its assessment of the relationship between the USA and Mexico, this darkly comic work remains a highlight within the filmmaker’s incredible body of work. DOÑA LUPA (1985) screening on 15 and 28 May only. An elderly woman takes in a pair of suspicious lodgers.
● MIMIC + MIMIC: DIRECTOR’S CUT (1997) – A story of genetic engineering gone awry, in which a potential cure for a deadly infant virus unleashes a new mutation into American society, MIMIC highlights many of the themes that are present throughout del Toro’s work: the horror and folly of humanity, and the genuine dangers this poses for children. Screening in its original version and Director’s Cut, MIMIC remains the work of a filmmaker with a potent vision
● THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE (2001) – This emotionally layered Spanish-language production, set towards the end of the Spanish Civil War, recounts the tale of a boy who is sent to a haunted rural orphanage after his freedom-fighter father is killed. Demonstrating the director’s ability to transfer from notebook to screen his singular vision, this seminal work is a provocative synthesis of historical melodrama, murder mystery and a chilling, gothic ghost story.
● BLADE II (2002) – Meshing stylishly executed set pieces with del Toro’s eye for the macabre, this exhilarating and visceral blockbuster draws upon the comic book created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan. It concerns the titular anti-hero’s attempts to stop a new super-race of indiscriminate blood guzzlers from taking over the world. A perfect fit for del Toro’s dark sensibilities, it’s a deliriously kinetic vampire martial arts movie powered by kick-ass action sequences.
● HELLBOY (2004) – Articulating a personal artistic vision within a mainstream structure, del Toro’s adaptation of Mike Mignola’s cult comic book series sees Ron Perlman bring roguish charm to the titular hero. The director described the film as articulating everything ‘an atomic adventure book movie could be,’ offering a ‘celebration of otherness and being different. It is a beauty and the beast story where at the end they kiss, and they both turn to beasts.’
● PAN’S LABYRINTH (2006) – Set during General Franco’s oppressive dictatorship, this time towards the end of the Second World War, young Ofelia seeks refuge from her authoritarian stepfather in a mysterious labyrinth populated by fantastical creatures. Inspired by Francisco Goya’s Black Paintings and the carnality of Arthur Rackham’s work, the film features creations that almost immediately took their place within the collective cultural psyche.
● HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008) – Ron Perlman’s demonic hero returns alongside his pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz, aquatic empath Abe Sapien and slightly less hostile boss Tom Manning. As they face off against underworld prince Nuada, this sequel draws upon the del Toro’s interest in symbolist painters, adding a pronounced visual lushness and sensuality. Extensively researched, character creator Mike Mignola and del Toro once again worked together on the design process, but this time the version feels much more the filmmaker’s own vision of this world.
● PACIFIC RIM (2013) – Influenced by the Japanese Kaiju monster movie sub-genre, Pacific Rim was a natural choice for a director who regards the 1966 classic The War of the Gargantua as a formative cinematic experience. It charts humanity’s last attempt to build robot behemoths capable of fighting giant creatures from another dimension. A passion project for del Toro, it’s an underrated entry in his body of work, and essential viewing on the big screen.
● CRIMSON PEAK (2015) – One of del Toro’s most under-appreciated works, this is a distinguished update of the age-old haunted house set-up, with overtures to the gothic tradition. Mia Wasikowska plays a young heiress seduced by the charms of Tom Hiddleston’s desperate conman and the elusive, ethereal allure of his sister, played by a superb, lustrously attired Jessica Chastain. It’s a discrete and nuanced drama with sumptuously detailed production and costume design. The film plays alongside the short GEOMETRIA (1987) on 13 May only inwhich a boy summons a demon to help him succeed in geometry class at school.
● TALES OF ARCADIA (2016) – In 2016, Guillermo del Toro created an extraordinary, animated show with Dreamworks Animation for Netflix featuring Jim, a young student who becomes the first human troll hunter. After a trilogy of stories spanning six seasons and a concluding film in 2021, this groundbreaking show came to an end. We celebrate the series with the screening of a whole episode and several clips in the company of del Toro, who will discuss his memories of working on the show.
● THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017) – Featuring a plethora of cinematic allusions, del Toro’s Juggernaut of an award winner is even more rewarding for its understated beauty. Set in 1950s America, at the height of Cold-War paranoia, the film sees Sally Hawkins plays a lonely young woman who forms a dangerous attachment to an otherworldly creature. An excellent acting ensemble combines wildly imaginative production design, fluid camerawork and a gorgeous score by Alexandre Desplat. It is funny, romantic, and terrifying, while also being politically engaged and, ultimately, devastating in its emotional power.
● NIGHTMARE ALLEY + NIGHTMARE ALLEY: VISIONS OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT (BLACK AND WHITE VERSION) (2021) – The 1947 version of Nightmare Alley was one of the most perverse noirs of that era. This more faithful – and fatalistic – adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s novel sees Bradley Cooper excel as a small-time carny whose unctuous charm propels him to fame as a charlatan spiritualist. However, his unchecked ambition attracts the attention of Cate Blanchett’s psychotherapist, who seals his fate. Dan Lausten’s rich cinematography captures the atmosphere of this world, which is even more effective in the subsequently released black-and-white Director’s Cut version, which also screens.
● GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO (2022) – Amid the maelstrom of 1930s fascist Italy, carpenter Geppetto mourns the loss of his 10-year-old son Carlo. He finds comfort in carving a wooden puppet, which is unexpectedly brought to life by a blue wood spirit and named Pinocchio. Del Toro was the perfect choice to return Carlo Collodi’s celebrated fable to the screen. He never shies away from the story’s darker elements, while delivering on the central themes of redemption and the power of parental love.
● FRANKENSTEIN (2025) – Finally delivering his long-dreamed project to adapt Mary Shelley’s novel, del Toro demonstrates his vision with an extraordinary ensemble of collaborators – both in front of and behind the camera. In an isolated tower, Victor Frankenstein works furiously on an experiment to reanimate the recently dead. In doing so, he sets off a deadly sequence of events. Like the novel, del Toro’s film shifts perspectives from creator to creature, all the while grappling with philosophical issues such as the complexities of human relationships and the very meaning of life.
About the Author
