(MENAFN- Trend News Agency ) Guillermo del Toro won the Directors Guild of America's top honor Saturday night at the DGA Awards for his fantastical fable "The Shape of Water," the latest in a string of prizes that have made his film one of the clear frontrunners heading into next month's Academy Awards, Los Angeles Times reports.

"This was a movie that was full of many reasons why it shouldn't work – and those are the reasons why it works," said Del Toro of the film, a dreamlike, 1960s-set love story between a mute janitor and a fish-man. "And for you to tell me today to keep doing these insane fables that I've believed in for 25 years means the world to me."

The Mexican director of such films as "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Hellboy," Del Toro had never previously been nominated for a DGA Award. He took the prize over a strong field that included Christopher Nolan ("Dunkirk"), Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird"), Jordan Peele ("Get Out") and Martin McDonagh ("Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri").

Del Toro's win - which comes on the heels of victories for "The Shape of Water" at the and the - may bode well for his chances to take the directing prize at the Academy Awards. Thirteen of the past 14 DGA Award winners have gone on to earn the Oscar for directing, including last year's winner, "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle.

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