The American Society of Cinematographers has announced that it will celebrate Guillermo del Toro with its Board of Governors Award.
It will present the honour at the 40th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards Gala on 8 March at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
“Guillermo del Toro has reshaped modern cinema by treating the screen as a living canvas, painting worlds where beauty and terror share the same heartbeat,” said ASC president Mandy Walker AM ASC ACS.
“A truly independent and original visionary of cinematic storytelling, Guillermo continually enchants us with his style and with the visceral experiences he creates for audiences in the cinema.”
The ASC revealed that it chose del Toro to receive the Board of Governors Award in recognition of his “significant and indelible contributions to the art of filmmaking”.
This ASC honour is reserved for collaborators who champion directors of photography and elevate the visual craft at the heart of cinema.
“From the outset, del Toro demonstrated extraordinary vision — his first feature, Cronos (1993), premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and earned the Critics’ Prize,” the ASC continued.
“He has gone on to direct and produce a slate of acclaimed films, including The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Mimic (1997), Hellboy (2004), Pacific Rim (2013) and Crimson Peak (2015). He wrote and directed The Shape of Water (2017), which earned 13 Academy Award nominations and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director, along with Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards for Best Director.”
Del Toro’s first stop‑motion feature, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), co‑directed with Mark Gustafson, also won the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Producers Guild of America Award for Best Animated Film.
Meanwhile, Frankenstein, del Toro’s most recent Netflix live-action feature released in autumn 2025, stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth – with the Oscar-nominated feature reflecting del Toro’s “continued commitment to reimagining classic stories through a bold visual lens”.
“It is a privilege to recognise Guillermo del Toro with this award,” added ASC Awards chairperson Chuck Minsky ASC.
“His contributions to the art of filmmaking – both narratively and visually – have elevated the medium in profound ways, and we are deeply appreciative of the legacy he continues to build.”
Previous recipients of the ASC Board of Governors include Kathleen Kennedy, Spike Lee, Viola Davis, Sofia Coppola, Jeff Bridges, Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington, Ridley Scott, Barbra Streisand, Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Christopher Nolan, Morgan Freeman, Francis Ford Coppola, Sally Field, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, among others.
