At the Palm Springs Film Awards, Guillermo del Toro was honoured. Despite getting a gong, a personal tragedy weighed on him, which he let out on stage.
The noted director shares that his brother — whom he did not name — passed away three days ago. However, the filmmaker emotionally adds that he still attends the ceremony because of Frankenstein, a movie for which he received the honour; the cast and crew, whom he says are akin to a second family to him.
“I’ve come to believe that everybody’s born with one or two songs to sing. That’s it, and we keep repeating them and repeating them until we get them sort of right. And Frankenstein was the song I was born to sing,” he shares as he received the Visionary Award.
Tying his grief to a broader theme of Frankenstein, Guillermo adds he made the story by “making it about fatherhood and forgiveness, because I believe that we want to be forgiven and forgive. And now, very recently, something has became very clear to me.”
He continues, “Three days ago, I lost my older brother but I’m here, and I’m here because the film speaks about a condition that is purely human; that is proved by the final phase in the film, which says the heart may break and the broken live on. Even a broken heart pumps the blood and keeps you going.”
Then, in a reference to Frankenstein’s two key characters, Guillermo shares, “My brother and I played Victor and the creature on many moments in our lives,” adding, “many years ago, we granted each other love and granted each other peace. So I’m here for family.”
As he ends his speech, the director notes that he attends this award show for his family, gesturing to the film’s cast.
“I may be absent at a few functions this [awards] season, but not this one. I’m here because this is family. Life gives you a family on the way.”
Frankenstein is streaming on Netflix.