ABOVE – Director and writer GUILLERMO DEL TORO won the Oscar for Best Picture of 2018.  TORONTO producer J. Miles Dale shared the award. This was the first Oscar win for Dale, who worked with del Toro on the 2013 film “Mama” and the horror drama series “The Strain.”

“The Shape of Water” took four Oscars, including the most important one – Best Picture of 2018. The film was shot over a period of 58 days in both Hamilton and Toronto.  They were stand-ins for BALTIMORE in the 1960’s. With their wide range of neighbourhoods and Gothic, Victorian, Edwardian and Brutalist buildings, location spotters were able to choose from a cornucopia of convincing locales.  These included Massey Hall (disguised as the Orpheum Theatre), the Elgin Theatre (interior), and the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus.

Mexican director GUILLERMO DEL TORO, maker of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is fond of the two cities, and told the CBC that he loves HAMILTON so much he’d like to set up his own studio there. Del Toro says he’s watched it evolve since the 1990’s and calls that city a “powerhouse” of creativity – with great pancakes.

<Metro News, MONTREAL, March 5/2018>  TORONTO & neighbouring HAMILTON have the facilities, trained crews and a variety of locations to make outstanding feature films.  Convince yourself by seeing ‘The Shape of Water’.  ‘The Shape of Water’, took Oscars for Best Picture of 2018, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay & Best Production Design.