The Shape of Water will receive the Vanguard Award at the 29th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival's Film Awards Gala Jan. 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The award is presented to the film’s cast and director and recognizes its outstanding ensemble.
Scheduled to attend are Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help), Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth), director, writer, and producer Guillermo del Toro and producer J. Miles Dale. Additional cast members scheduled to attend will be announced shortly. The film festival runs Jan. 2-15, 2018.
“Guillermo del Toro is a master storyteller, whose boundless imagination has crafted a visually dazzling fable with The Shape of Water,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “This romantic story of a woman discovering herself as she falls for someone otherworldly is driven by an astounding performance by Sally Hawkins, and features an acclaimed cast. This exemplary group of actors brings to life this magical ode to cinema."
Last year, La La Land received the Vanguard Award. The Shape of Water will join previously announced 2018 honorees Timothée Chalamet, Gal Gadot, Holly Hunter, Allison Janney, Gary Oldman and Sam Rockwell.
The Shape of Water is an otherworldly fable set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones and Michael Stuhlbarg.
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