Guillermo Del Toro
AFP/Getty Images Frederick M Brown

BEVERLY HILLS? - Guillermo Del Toro told a reception in Beverly Hills that he had been surprised to learn that his film, a fable about a little girl who retreats into a fantasy world in fascist Spain, had been shown at the White House.

"I imagine Mr President finding that it was in Spanish, first of all," Del Toro told an audience at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"Having garnered praise from Stephen King, I felt it would be interesting to see what a true master of horror would think. Or a master of science-fiction if you think about the intelligence on Iraq."

Del Toro said his film, which is set in post-civil war Spain in 1944, was particularly relevant in the post September-11 political climate.

"It's good to remind people how things about your security and the good of your country can turn into absolutely horrid things," Del Toro said.

"Pan's Labyrinth" is regarded as the overwhelming favorite for Sunday's Oscar in the best foreign language category, and is already the fifth most successful foreign film in US box-office history.