Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water was awarded the Golden Lion at the 74th Venice Film Festival on Saturday, a triumphant end to a week’s worth of rave reviews and Oscar buzz. Guillermo del Toro's monster thriller "The Shape of Water" took top prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, capping an 11-day event where the demons of social division and environmental disaster loomed large on the screen. Del Toro says he hopes his victory will inspire young directors to “have faith in whatever you have faith in — in my case, it’s monsters.”

“The Shape of Water” is a fantastical story about a mute young woman, played by Sally Hawkins, who falls for a mysterious sea creature being held at a high-security lab. The Latest on the Venice Film Festival (all times local):

Director Guillermo del Toro says his Venice Film Festival victory is a vindication of monster movies, science-fiction movies and other sometimes-derided cinema genres. Variety reports that a “visibly moved” del Toro accepted the award, declaring, “I believe in life, I believe in love and I believe in cinema.”

The director – who also co-wrote the film with Vanessa Taylor, and gave up his salary to help get it financed – has spoken widely about his hope that ‘The Shape of Water’s positive message can make a difference in these troubled times. The world's oldest film festival wrapped up Saturday after 11 days that brought stars including George Clooney, Matt Damon and Jennifer Lawrence to the canal-crossed Italian city. The runner-up Grand Jury Prize on Saturday went to Israeli director Samuel Maoz’ “Foxtrot.”

Palestinian actor Kamel El Basha and British actress Charlotte Rampling took the festival’s acting trophies.
Film director Guillermo del Toro wins for The Shape of Water.