Guillermo del Toro and Neil Gaiman Find Hope in Powerful, Eclectic Films | EXTENDED CUT

#GuillermodelToro, the Oscar-winning director of #TheShapeofWater, joins #GoodOmens creator #NeilGaiman to share a list of films that provide a sense of hope in difficult times. Their picks include some of the top-rated films on IMDb as well as cult classics. The two visionary artists have teamed up with IMDb and the United Nations Refugee Agency to assemble this list and raise awareness for refugees and other vulnerable communities who have been especially effected by COVID -19. If you can help, please make a donation at: https://imdb.to/GDTNGYT

The conversation between del Toro and Gaiman explores the inherent hopefulness of films that place characters in harrowing situations. They begin by discussing #TheShawshankRedemption and the way the characters portrayed by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman manage to find solace and friendship in confinement. In #Tampopo and #BabettesFeast they find hope and meaning in the importance of sharing a meal. Despite claims of Frank Capra’s work being lighter fare, del Toro insists that #ItsAWonderfulLife finds its strength in first dragging viewers to the lowest of lows before allowing the hope to shine through. Similarly, in discussing Jean Cocteau’s #BeautyandtheBeast, del Toro describes the French filmmaker's need to overcome great difficulty in real life in order to bring beauty to the screen.

According to Neil Gaiman, #AllThatJazz also manages to make stunning art out of a traumatic situation when Bob Fosse turns his own experience into a surrealist film. Gaiman also believes that Terry Gilliam’s #Brazil is a wonderful demonstration of how one must fight hard to defeat the forces that wish to squelch one’s dreams. And on the topic of “dreams you dare to dream,” del Toro brings new color to #TheWizardofOz with a powerful interpretation of the journey at the center of the film.