Guillermo Del Toro, uber-director and all-round good egg, has added another gong to his already overwhelmed trophy cabinet with a big win at the 2008 Pioneer World Cinema Awards.
Having beaten The Lives Of Others, The Science Of Sleep, Climates and Syndromes And A Century, the Spanish helmer flew into London to collect the award from Catherine Deneuve at a ceremony held on January 30 at the BFI Southbank.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Hellboy daddy said: "I am very humbled by the competition and the nominations so I am very happy to have won this award. I am extremely thankful because world cinema seems to be not only about geography of the world out there, but about charting the world within us. Very often people think that the only way to tell the truth is through reality. So I find, by my own experience, irreality is sometimes a better tool to tell the truth."
El Laberinto Del Fauno (as it’s otherwise known) has already picked up a number of international awards, including three Oscars, three BAFTAs and a 2007 Empire award, so it’s heartening to see that success hasn’t gone to old Guillermo’s head.
The full awards ceremony, hosted by Jonathan Ross, will be broadcast on BBC Four on Saturday, February 2 at 9.10pm.