What to know
- Guillermo del Toro attended the 2026 Canadian Film Centre Gala in Toronto to receive the Norman Jewison Founder’s Council Award, praising the late Norman Jewison as both an inspiration and an ambassador for Canadian film.
- Del Toro highlighted Toronto as a major creative hub, emphasizing its talent and craftsmanship, with many of his films filmed in the city.
- He also shared favourite local spots, including Japanese dining (notably omakase), La Paella, and rare bookstores like The Scribe and D & E Lake Ltd.
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro has shared what his favourite spots to hit in Toronto were, ahead of his award acceptance at the 2026 Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Gala.
On April 10, del Toro was in town to attend the gala and accept his award.
The Norman Jewison Founder’s Council Award, named after late Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison who was best known for movies such as In the Heat of the Night and Fiddler on the Roof, recognizes film and television creatives whose work embodies Norman’s legacy, has a global impact, and/ are committing to social justice storytelling.
Del Toro was 2026’s recipient for his award-winning films, often of which were filmed in Toronto, and expanded the boundaries of film internationally.
While on the green carpet, Del Toro shared with Now Toronto what winning this award meant to him, explaining that Jewison was someone he looked up to.
“Norman Jewison was not only a filmmaker I admire, and [that] everybody knew in that function, in that talent, but he was also an ambassador to Canada and Canadian film and Toronto,” he said. “In a strange way, I feel the same way about myself, not as a filmmaker, but as an ambassador of the talent that exists in Canada.”
Del Toro added that the country and city is a creative space to be explored.
“A lot of people think of Canada simply in the light of rebates or tax incentives, but I think of it as an ideal place creatively, and for now almost 20 years, we have been endeavouring to make movies that carry the excellence of Canadian talent and craftmanship,” he said.
For many of his films, including Pacific Rim, Shape of Water, and even his latest production Frankenstein, many of the scenes were filmed out of Toronto, something del Toro said he did because of the people who lived in the city.
“The people, the talent, it’s like a big family at this point,” del Toro said. “We know each other very, very well.”
Del Toro was also gracious enough to share his favourite spots in the city that he checks out when he visits, citing that the city has many delicious restaurants to discover.
“I love eating Japanese,” he said. “In the Japanese centre up north, there’s a small Omakase restaurant. I love La Paella on Queen Street. I love many, many others.”
He also added Toronto was a hub for good bookstores as well, highlighting a couple of stores specializing in rare books.
“You have The Scribe [on Danforth], you have [D & E Lake Ltd.] on King, there’s so many.”
The CFC Gala follows the recent Academy Awards, where del Toro’ Frankenstein won Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
