Last night in London, the BFI honoured one of cinema’s great directors: Guillermo del Toro. At the annual BFI Chair’s Dinner, the filmmaker received the BFI Fellowship, presented by his friend and collaborator Cate Blanchett.
J.J. Abrams, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg joined in the celebration of the storyteller who has reshaped modern fantasy and horror.
Del Toro accepted the honour with his trademark heart and humour, reflecting on his 30‑year mission to make “the brutal and the beautiful sit together” and praising the BFI as “a beacon of culture” in challenging times.
Blanchett captured the magic of his work perfectly, calling his films “wildly entertaining, often hilarious and frequently terrifying,” and reminding us that his monsters always point back to what makes us human.
The Fellowship marks a major moment in a month‑long BFI celebration of del Toro’s career, including a curated season at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX, a public Career Conversation, a Masterclass for young filmmakers, and a special visit to the BFI National Archive — a place that quietly shaped his early life as a projectionist in Mexico.
BFI Distribution will also re‑release his debut feature Cronos in a new 4K restoration from 15 May.
With this honour, del Toro joins an iconic list of BFI Fellows — from David Lean and Akira Kurosawa to Tilda Swinton, Christopher Nolan and Spike Lee — a fitting home for a filmmaker who has given the world some of its most unforgettable visions.