Guillermo del Toro’s innate love of film comes through when he speaks, even as he issues dire warnings about what’s at stake as the film industry is shaken up by the forces of AI and business consolidation.
“We are on the verge of film illiteracy. We are on the verge of film illiteracy,” director del Toro told industry members gathered Monday night at the BFI America dinner event in Hollywood to celebrate del Toro’s selection for the prestigious BFI Fellowship Award.
Del Toro, the Oscar-winning director of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Hellboy,” “The Shape of Water,” and last year’s “Frankenstein,” warned that AI is encroaching on the art-making process, which until now has been strictly human-driven.
He emphasized that the human desire to express oneself is as old as the first images were created on the walls of ancient caves. Del Toro also gave a nod to the growing political polarization that threatens creative freedom around the world.
“The contract between man and image is sacred,” del Toro told the packed Mother Wolf crowd. Art helps bring people together, but “we’re in a time where that’s at risk,” he said. He called artificial intelligence a form of “natural stupidity.”
“We are taught that images are produced by artificial means. They are not just there; they are what connects us and makes us feel beautiful,” he said.
Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and multihyphenates Bill Hader and Jon Favreau attend the BFI America Dinner in Hollywood.
Todd Williamson/BFI January Image
Del Toro told the audience that his connection to the British Film Institute dates back to his teenage years growing up in Guadalajara, when he wrote letters to the BFI asking them to send him 16mm prints of legendary British helmer Carol Reed’s titles and other classic films to screen at his cinema club.
Del Toro’s heartfelt speech responded to an advance from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who introduced del Toro as one of the greats of modern cinema. Sarandos said he first met del Toro when he was directing the animated version of Trollhunters for Netflix. During the show’s first creative meeting, Sarandos received a crash course on why del Toro is so well-known among his fellow filmmakers.
“I went into the meeting and thought, ‘Why would this master filmmaker direct what we thought was a comic book?'” Sarandos recalls. “And I watched Guillermo create the universe right before my eyes.”
The BFI Fellowship is the highest honor the BFI can bestow on filmmakers in recognition of their impact on the film industry. Del Toro told the crowd he was “blown away” when he finally got the chance to visit the BFI’s vast archives, which date back to 1935. Del Toro has pledged to donate one-third of his papers and archives to the BFI archives.
Introducing del Toro, BFI CEO Ben Roberts told the crowd: “At the heart of the BFI is the National Archive, one of the world’s largest film collections.”
The intimate room was filled with boldface names like Netflix’s Bela Bajaria and Dan Lin. Pam Abdi in Warner Bros. Pictures. Former Paramount Pictures President Shelly Lansing. and film directors Jon Favreau, Michael Mann, Bill Hader, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Del Toro emphasized that he is entering a “giving back” phase in his life by working with organizations such as the BFI to teach and advocate for film. Director del Toro said he plans to teach a class on the genius of early Alfred Hitchcock films for the BFI.
“We’re not gatekeepers. We’re gatekeepers to allow more people access to the church in the movies,” del Toro said. “I have been saved by images many times in my life.”
BFI CEO Ben Roberts
Todd Williamson/BFI January Image
The miracle of cinema is its persistence. Movies are creatures that shine anew every time someone takes a classic work, like Preston Sturges’ beloved 1941 film “Sullivan’s Travels,” for the first time. “These movies are never a thing of the past,” he said. “The first time someone sees them, they’re there.”
Del Toro’s impassioned speech blended the highs and lows of a moment in which movies can reach farther than ever before with the push of a button. (“We celebrate all the love that we all brought to this movie,” he enthused.) But he used the metaphor of a vehicle to drive home a larger point: that the industry needs to unite around filmmaking.
“The bus is now very close to the cliff, so everyone has to lean to the right,” he said.
The fundraiser, hosted by BFI America, will support the organization’s annual Film on Film Festival, which will return to London next June. BFI chief executive Roberts told Variety that the BFI’s festivals and its wider film preservation work are part of the organization’s charter to champion the needs of film art and the British film industry itself.
“In addition to the UK’s cultural role of being the leading institution for film, we also have a role to play in working with government and industry to shape policy and look at what’s coming next,” Roberts said. “We say our job is to ensure the right conditions for successful film production.”
