Guillermo del Toro's 'Pinocchio' premieres at BFI London Film Festival

London: Iconic Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's dream project 'Pinocchio' has premiered at the BFI London Film Festival. The film is officially titled Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, and the filmmaker dedicated it to his mother who recently passed away.

Speaking at the premiere, he said Pinnochio is a story he saw on screen as a kid, and he bonded with his mother over the film. "It affected me because Pinocchio saw the world the way I saw it. I was a little bit enraged that people demand obedience from Pinocchio. So I wanted to make a film about disobedience as a virtue, and to say that you shouldn't change to be loved."

The film is a retelling of the popular Carlo Collodi fairytale about the wooden puppet that came to life and dreamt of becoming a real boy. The story takes place in 1930s Fascist Italy. In Guillermo's version, Pinocchio does not become a good boy. He turns out to be a mischievous boy who loves to play mean tricks. The story is described as one of love and disobedience. The wooden toy-turned-boy struggles to live up to his father's expectations and in the process, learns the true meaning of life.

Speaking to the audience, del Toro brought up his team's love for animation. He said: "Everybody who is here believes that animation is not a genre. That animation is art. Animation is film." The filmmaker announced the darker adaptation of the Italian novel in 2008 and said no art form has influenced his work more than animation, and no single character has a deeper personal connection to him as Pinocchio.

He also bid an emotional farewell to his mother who died a day before the premiere. He said: "I just want to say, my mother just passed away, and this was very special for her and me. This is not only the first time you'll see the movie, but it's also the first time she'll see the movie with us. Thank you."