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LOS ANGELES — October 7th, 2025 — The Cinema Audio Society today announced that Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro will receive the organization’s prestigious Filmmaker Award at the 62nd Annual CAS Awards, Saturday, March 7, 2026.
“The CAS Filmmaker Award recognizes directors who understand the critical role that sound plays in film and television, and Guillermo embodies that appreciation at the highest level,” said CAS President Peter Kurland. “His films are defined not only by their stunning visuals and deeply human themes but also by their masterful use of sound to build atmosphere, suspense, and wonder. Guillermo’s collaboration with sound artists has elevated every story he’s told. We are thrilled to celebrate his contributions to the art form.”
“Audiovisual entertainment — telling stories with images and sound — well, it requires the most careful composition and exacting standards to deliver a memorable experience in every theatre and every home,” said del Toro. “It is an honor to be recognized by those whom I consider and value as my peers and my admired colleagues.”
Mexican-born filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has created a distinctive cinematic style that blends horror, fantasy, and his exuberant personal visual imagery. He studied under Oscar-winning special effects artist Dick Smith and made his first feature, Cronos (1993), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Critics Prize. He followed with Mimic (1997), The Devil’s Backbone (2001), and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and won three Academy Awards® for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Makeup.
Del Toro went on to direct and produce internationally acclaimed works including Hellboy (2004), Pacific Rim (2013), and Crimson Peak (2015). His film The Shape of Water (2017) received 13 Academy Award nominations and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director, as well as the Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards for Best Director. His first stop-motion feature, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), co-directed with the late Mark Gustafson, received the Oscar®, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Producers Guild Award for Best Animated Film. His upcoming Netflix live-action feature, Frankenstein, starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth, is set for release on October 17, 2025.
Across his films, del Toro’s commitment to craft extends to his collaborations with sound designers and mixers. Whether the delicate creak of wooden marionettes in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio or the colossal roar of kaiju in Pacific Rim, del Toro consistently demonstrates how sound can be a narrative force.
Del Toro joins an esteemed group of past CAS Filmmaker Honorees, including Denis Villeneuve, J.J. Abrams, George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, Joe Wright, Jon Favreau, Taylor Hackford, Jonathan Demme, Richard Donner, Rob Marshall, Edward Zwick, and Quentin Tarantino.
For additional information about CAS or the CAS Awards, visit cinemaaudiosociety.org.
Photos available for download here.
About the CAS Awards:
The 62nd CAS Awards will honor Outstanding Achievements in Sound Mixing in seven categories: Motion Pictures – Live Action, Motion Pictures – Animated, Motion Pictures – Documentary, Non-Theatrical Motion Pictures or Limited Series, Television Series – One Hour, Television Series – Half Hour, and Television Non-Fiction, Variety or Music – Series or Specials. The CAS Student Recognition Award and the CAS Career Achievement Award will also be presented.
About the Cinema Audio Society:
Formed in 1964, The Cinema Audio Society is dedicated to sharing information with and about sound mixers in the Motion Picture and Television Industry.
The objectives of the CAS are: to educate and inform the general public, motion picture and television industries that effective sound is achieved by a creative, artistic and technical blending of diverse sound elements; to provide the motion picture and television industry with a progressive society of master craftspeople who specialize in the art of cinematic sound recording; to advance the specialized field of cinematic sound recording through the exchange of ideas, methods and information; to advance the art of auditory appreciation and to philanthropically support those causes dedicated to the sense of hearing; to institute and maintain high standards of conduct and craftspersonship among our members; to aid the motion picture and television industry in the selection and training of qualified personnel in the unique field of cinematic sound recording and to achieve deserved recognition for our members, who are industry leaders and major contributors in the field of motion picture and television entertainment. Visit www.cinemaaudiosociety.org for more information.
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For General CAS Awards Inquiries, please contact:
CASOffice@CinemaAudioSociety.org
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