Beyond Fest2025: L.A. Genre Fest Presents 'Está Vivo: The Gods and Monsters of Guillermo del Toro'

BEYOND FEST PRESENTS ESTÁ VIVO: THE GODS AND MONSTERS OF GUILLERMO DEL TORO - A 12-FEATURE RETROSPECTIVE CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF UNPARALLELED FANTASTICAL ARTISTRY.

 

Oscar-winning director and master filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro, joins in person for a sweeping retrospective spanning three decades of dreams and demons, including new restorations, special Director's Cuts, and rare 35mm screenings.

 

 

LOS ANGELES, September 3, 2025 - Beyond Fest, the biggest and most highly attended genre film festival in the U.S., in partnership with the American Cinematheque, proudly announces a spectacular celebration of the great Guillermo del Toro. Está Vivo: The Gods and Monsters of Guillermo del Toro is the most complete retrospective of the filmmaker's illustrious career and spans his revolutionary and electrifying debut, CRONOS 4K Restoration (Theatrical Premiere), through to his most recent descent into madness, NIGHTMARE ALLEY: VISION IN DARKNESS AND LIGHT.

 

"Guillermo del Toro's films have inspired generations of filmmakers and audiences alike in a way unlike any other artist we've experienced," said Evrim Ersoy, Head of Programming at Beyond Fest. "To welcome him and celebrate his artistic vision on this scale truly honors who he is as both a creative force of nature and a proudly obsessive servant of Cinema."

 

Está Vivo comprises 12 features and brings audiences an unprecedented journey through the lyrical, political, and magical worlds of modern cinema's most visionary storyteller. Guillermo del Toro will join for four specially curated blocks of programming in which the maestro will share his personal stories, dreams, and nightmares of his life behind the lens. In anticipation of his forthcoming film FRANKENSTEIN, releasing later this year, the series traces the themes of monsters, humanity, and imagination that have defined his cinema to date.

 

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE:

CRIMSON PEAK, NIGHTMARE ALLEY: VISION IN DARKNESS AND LIGHT, THE SHAPE OF WATER

The celebration opens with In The Mood For Love, a triple bill exploring the emotional core of del Toro's high wire balancing of beauty and bloodshed. Featuring the quintessential gothic horror, CRIMSON PEAK, Best Picture winner, THE SHAPE OF WATER, and del Toro's personally supervised brand-new version of his 2022 odyssey, NIGHTMARE ALLEY: VISION IN DARKNESS AND LIGHT, In The Mood For Love depicts his singularity in marrying his fantastical sensibilities with his profound sense of humanity.

 

 

FROM SKETCH TO SCREEN:

HELLBOY, HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY, BLADE II

From Sketch to Screen explores del Toro's deep-rooted and passionate love of comic books with three of the most radical adaptations ever committed to screen: HELLBOY, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY, and BLADE II. These bold forays into comic book worlds and genre spectacle offer rare insights into del Toro's wholly singular approach to superhero storytelling and modern cinema's most dominant genre.

 

THE EARLY YEARS:

CRONOS 4K RESTORATION, DEVIL'S BACKBONE 4K RESTORATION, MIMIC DIRECTOR'S CUT

Del Toro's foundational works will be celebrated in The Early Years, featuring the theatrical premiere 4K restoration of his debut feature CRONOS, the L.A. premiere of the 4K restoration of THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, and his first studio feature, MIMIC Director's Cut. These formative films reveal the seeds of his wildly imaginative storytelling, his love of gothic fantasy, inventive use of practical effects, and human connection that became hallmarks of his revolutionary career.

 

 

THE REVOLUTION:

PAN'S LABYRINTH

The retrospective culminates in a singular evening devoted to the internationally acclaimed masterpiece, PAN'S LABYRINTH. An experience unlike anything that had preceded it (or since), PAN'S LABYRINTH's rich symbolism, intricate production design, and emotionally resonant storytelling cemented del Toro's status as both a visionary auteur and one of the most essential voices in contemporary Cinema.

 

 

ESTÁ VIVO: THE GODS AND MONSTERS OF GUILLERMO DEL TORO

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

In The Mood For Love

CRIMSON PEAK

Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: United States Runtime: 119 mins

2015

 

NIGHTMARE ALLEY - VISION IN DARKNESS AND LIGHT

Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Country: United States / Mexico / Canada Runtime: 159 mins

2021

 

THE SHAPE OF WATER

Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: United States Runtime: 123 mins

Guests - Guillermo Del Toro - Post-Screening Q&A 2017

 

 

From Sketch to Screen

HELLBOY

Special Screening - format: N/A Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: United States Runtime: 122 mins

Guests: Guillermo Del Toro - Pre-Screening Q&A 2004

 

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: United States Runtime: 120 mins

2008

 

BLADE II

Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: United States Runtime: 117 mins

2002

 

 

The Early Years

CRONOS - 4K Restoration, courtesy of Janus Films Theatrical Premiere

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: Mexico

Runtime: 92 mins

1993

 

THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE - 4K Restoration, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

L.A. Premiere

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: Spain/Mexico Runtime: 106 mins

2001

 

MIMIC - Director's Cut Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: United States Runtime: 105 mins

Guests: Guillermo Del Toro - Post-Screening Q&A 1997

 

 

The Revolution

PAN'S LABYRINTH

Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: Spain/Mexico Runtime: 120 mins

Guests: Guillermo Del Toro - Pre-Screening Q&A 2006

 

LOS FELIZ 3

 

PACIFIC RIM

Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro Country: USA

Runtime: 131 mins

2013

 

GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO

Special Screening

Director: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson Country: USA/Mexico

Runtime: 117 mins

2022

 

 

 

 

Attend Beyond Fest:

 

Tickets will be on sale on the American Cinematheque website Thursday, September 4th at 12:00 pm PST. Visit beyondfest.com and americancinematheque.com for details.

 

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