Tiff Uncut

The first wave of Festival announcements has passed, and among the bombshells is the news that honourary Torontonian Guillermo del Toro’s latest film will premiere at TIFF ‘17. THE SHAPE OF WATER is many things — an aquatic love story between a lonely janitor (Sally Hawkins) and an amphibian, an ironic commentary on the American dream, a tribute to star Michael Shannon’s jawline — but fans of the auteur’s creature features and his twisted sense of humour will not be disappointed. Not only has del Toro made a moving ode to old Hollywood cinema, but it is also his most emotional and deftly realized work yet. One of the perks of having the Mexican filmmaker make his home in Toronto is del Toro’s annual Masterclass, held at TIFF Bell Lightbox. 2016 saw him lecture expertly on the work of Luis Buñuel, delivering in-depth analysis on the films Los Olvidados, El Bruto, Nazarin, Virdiana, Susana, and El. This week’s TIFF UN/CUT airs a masterclass conducted while del Toro was deep in production mode for 2015’s Crimson