Guillermo del Toro named jury president of Venice Film Festival

Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro will serve as the president of the competition jury at the upcoming 75th edition of the Venice International Film Festival which takes place Aug. 29 to Sept. 8.

Del Toro will be leading the panel that decides which film receives the prestigious Golden Lion award for best film among other awards. The director won the Golden Lion award in 2017 for The Shape of Water which leads the upcoming 90th annual Academy Awards with 13 nominations.

Del Toro, who also previously served on the Cannes Film Festival jury in 2015, participated in the Venice Film Festival for the first time in 1997 with his film Mimic.

"To serve as president in Venice is an immense honor and responsibility that I accept with respect and gratitude. Venice is a window to world cinema and the opportunity to celebrate its power and cultural relevance," del Toro said in a statement.

"Guillermo del Toro personifies generosity, a love for movies past or future, and a passion for the kind of cinema that can spark emotions, affect people and, at the same time, make them reflect," said director of the festival Alberto Barbera.

"By virtue of his lively imagination, uncommon sensitivity and his trust in the power of images, he has brought to life a fantastic universe in which love and fear can coexist, and to treasure diversity is a fundamental value."