The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Guillermo del Toro
Screenplay by	Guillermo del Toro; Vanessa Taylor;
Story by	Guillermo del Toro
Produced by	Guillermo del Toro; J. Miles Dale;
Starring	Sally Hawkins; Michael Shannon; Richard Jenkins; Doug Jones; Michael Stuhlbarg; Octavia Spencer;
Cinematography	Dan Laustsen
Edited by	Sidney Wolinsky
Music by	Alexandre Desplat
Production; companies	Fox Searchlight Pictures; TSG Entertainment; Double Dare You Productions;
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates	August 31, 2017 (Venice); December 1, 2017 (United States);
Running time	123 minutes
Countries	United States; Mexico;
Languages	American Sign Language; English; Russian;
Budget	$19.5–20 million
Box office	$196 million

The Shape of Water is a 2017 Mexican-American romantic dark fantasy film directed and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the film follows a mute custodian at a high-security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian creature, and decides to help him escape from death at the hands of an evil colonel. Filming took place on location in Ontario, Canada, from August to November 2016.

The Shape Of Water was screened as part of the main competition in the 74th Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered on August 31, 2017, and was awarded the Golden Lion. It was also screened at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It began a limited release in two theaters in New York City on December 1, 2017, before expanding wide on December 22, 2017, and grossed $195 million worldwide.

The Shape of Water was widely acclaimed by critics, who lauded its acting, screenplay, direction, visuals, production design, cinematography, and musical score. The American Film Institute selected it as one of the top ten films of 2017. The film was nominated for a leading thirteen awards at the 90th Academy Awards, winning four, including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro, and received numerous other accolades. It was the second fantasy film to win Best Picture, after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). A novelization by del Toro and Daniel Kraus was published on March 6, 2018.

^ Cite error: The named reference BBFC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "The Shape of Water". kinorium.com. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
^ Tapley, Kristopher (November 21, 2017). "Spirit Awards: 'Call Me by Your Name,' 'Get Out' Soar, 'Shape of Water' Shunned Again". Variety. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^ "2017 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmL.A. Feature Film Study: 25. August 8, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
^ "The Shape of Water". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.