Guillermo del Toro is the winner of the best director Golden Globe Award for his Cold War fairy tale The Shape of Water.
The film stars Sally Hawkins as a mute cleaning lady who falls in love with an amphibious creature kept confined in a government lab. The film has become of the front-runners for best picture at March’s Academy Awards. Del Toro’s acceptance speech, which was interrupted by the orchestra at one point, was an ode to his love affair with monsters.
He thanked the film’s cast, before continuing: “My monsters thank you.”
The category was dominated by male directors, which drew criticism since 2017 featured several acclaimed films from female directors, including Wonder Woman, Lady Bird and Mudbound.
It was a point that presenter Natalie Portman accentuated before the names of the nominees were read on Sunday night.
