Otherworldly Tale 'Pan's Labryrinth' Wins BBC Four World Cinema Award 2008

Pan's Labyrinth (Laberinto del fauno, El), a gothic fairy tale set against a background of post war repression in Spain, has been named the winner of the BBC Four World Cinema Award 2008.
Mexican director Guillermo del Toro flew in from Paris to collect the award from Catherine Deneuve at a ceremony held on 30 January 2008 at the BFI Southbank.
Guillermo del Toro said: "I am very humbled by the competition and the nominations so I am very happy to have won this award.
"I am extremely thankful because world cinema seems to be not only about geography of the world out there, but about charting the world within us.
"Very often people think that the only way to tell the truth is through reality. So I find, by my own experience, 'irreality' is sometimes a better tool to tell the truth," he said.
The film has already picked up a number of international awards, including three Academy Awards and three BAFTAs.
The award ceremony, hosted by Jonathan Ross and sponsored by Pioneer, will be broadcast on BBC Four on Saturday 2 February at 9.10pm.
Pan's Labyrinth was chosen from a shortlist of five by a panel of judges comprising of Christopher Eccleston, Nick Broomfield and Archie Panjabi.
The shortlist, announced in November 2007, was nominated by the UK's leading critics, film school heads and festival directors. The five films short-listed were:

• The Lives Of Others


• The Science Of Sleep


• Climates


• Pan's Labyrinth


• Syndromes And A Century

Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Four, said: "BBC Four is proud to celebrate such great film-making talent from all over the world, and this year the judges have faced a particularly difficult decision in choosing a winner.
"The diversity of films short-listed for this award demonstrates the incredibly high standard of world cinema today, and the winning film Pan's Labyrinth has captured the imagination of audiences and critics alike. I'm delighted that the panel have chosen it to receive the award."
(DS)