10 · 25 · 17 A reconciliation with the monstrous: Guillermo del Toro video chat in the 15th FICM Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard Gustavo R. Gallardo Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Special Guest of the 15th Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) with his film The Shape of Water, was presented at the Teatro José Rubén Romero to answer public concerns about his film work in a video chat. With the charisma of someone who loves what he does, Del Toro entered the room and was cheered by the audience that filled the theater. "I told the monsters, 'If you let me go to the bathroom, I'll be your friend all my life.'" This is how Guillermo resolved his lifelong friendship with the beings he invented, explaining how he dreamed of them as a child. "I was so scared that I wet myself in the cradle." "We formed a loving bond; for me, they are like religious figures. No kidding, I was inspired by an inexplicable devotion," he said while remembering how difficult it was to explain what he wanted to do, "a fantastic cinema, a genre that is not welcome, that is deeply political and controversial, and much more realistic in many ways than the genres in which reality moves." Guillermo del Toro advised those who want to create not to limit themselves to the popular sources because "they are recycling a very trite language"; instead, look for artists from other centuries to expand the visual language until you find your own style. He recommended to future filmmakers "to have the integrity, the idea that you have to subsist because 90% of what you receive is not positive. You need to inspire hundreds of people and coax someone to give you money. You need to have a very strong character and a very deep fragility. It's a horrible contrast." About The Shape of Water said he never liked normalcy because it feels like demographic data, "the monster represents the possibility of tolerance, love and empathy with the other." Guillermo believes that curiosity is essential to make a movie. "Curiosity must go beyond your knowledge when you have an idea. It is the invocation of knowledge. If it is worth asking, it's also worth responding," he said. Watch the video chat with Guillermo del Toro at the Rubén Romero Theater.
