Los Angeles, California - Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro won the 2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Director for his fantasy drama movie "The Shape of Water" at last week's 75th annual awards show.

Though not yet a box office smash, "The Shape of Water" about a mute, female janitor who is drawn into an otherworldly love affair, has been making waves on the entertainment award circuit, racking up a slew of high-profile nominations and awards since its release on December 1.

Some of the night's early major winners include "Coco" for Best Animated Picture and German drama film "In the Fade" directed by Fatih Akin for Best Foreign Language Picture.

"Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" won the award for television series in musical or comedy category. "The Handmaid's Tale" won the award for television series in the drama category.

James Franco won Best Actor in a motion picture in the musical or comedy category. Aziz Ansari won Best Actor in a TV series in musical or comedy category. Ewan McGregor won Best Actor in a limited series or TV movie. Nicole Kidman won the Award for Best Actress in a limited series or a motion picture made for television.

To protest sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and beyond, a majority of Hollywood stars wore black dresses at the award ceremony.

The 75th Golden Globe Awards honored the best in film and American television for 2017. American talk-show host Seth Meyers hosted the ceremony for the first time.

"For the male nominees in the room tonight this is the first time in three months it won't be terrifying to hear your name read out loud," Meyers joked in his opening monologue.

The Golden Globes, run by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are seen as pointers to the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, which take place on March 4.