The San Francisco Film Society has selected Guillermo del Toro as the recipient of its Irving M. Levin directing award.

The trophy will be presented to del Toro at the San Francisco Film Festival’s awards night April 27 at the Armory. He will also be honored at “An Evening With Guillermo del Toro” on April 25 at the Castro Theatre with an interview, selection of clips, a sneak peek at upcoming projects and a screening of “The Devil’s Backbone.”

“Guillermo del Toro’s remarkable ability to shift between intimate political drama and blockbuster action is shared with only a very few select filmmakers at the top of the field,” said Noah Cowan, executive director of the society, in a statement. “This award is a tribute to his boundless imagination and to his deep understanding of cinema history. Del Toro is both a great teacher and a boisterous communicator of why movies matter; we are going to have a very fun night with him here indeed.”

Del Toro’s credits include “Cronos,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Blade II,” “Hellboy” and “Pacific Rim.” “The Strain,” his 2009 vampire novel co-authored with Chuck Hogan, was recently adapted for television and developed into a series on FX. His gothic thriller “Crimson Peak” will be released in October.

Previous recipients of the award include Richard Linklater, Philip Kaufman, Kenneth Branagh, Oliver Stone, Walter Salles, Francis Ford Coppola, Mike Leigh, Spike Lee, Werner Herzog, Taylor Hackford, Milos Forman, Robert Altman, Warren Beatty and Clint Eastwood.