Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the nominees for the 20th Annual VES Awards, the prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life. This marks the Society’s 20th VES Awards program, and is being celebrated during the organization’s milestone 25th Anniversary.
Dune leads the feature film field with six nominations, while Disney’s Encanto is the top animated contender, also with six nominations. Loki leads the broadcast field with four nominations. Encanto is up against Luca (Pixar/Disney), Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney), Sing 2 (Illumination/Universal) and The Mitchells vs. the Machines (Sony Picture Animation/Netflix) in the main Animated Feature category.
“As we celebrate the Society’s 25th Anniversary and 20th Annual VES Awards, we’re honored to keep shining a light on remarkable visual effects artistry and innovation,” said Lisa Cooke, VES Chair. “In all of our nominees, we see best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of adaptation and ingenuity — talents that have kept audiences engaged and uplifted, now, more than ever. The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding global artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!”
“Autodesk is proud to sponsor the Visual Effects Society Student Award again this year, celebrating the next generation of groundbreaking filmmakers and artists,” said Jocelyn Moffatt, Industry Marketing Manager, Media & Entertainment, Autodesk. “Each year, I’m excited to see how young creatives are pushing the envelope. The level of creativity, imagination and technical skill shown by all of this year’s submissions is truly remarkable. Autodesk extends a big congratulations to this year’s student nominees.”
Nominees in 25 categories were selected by VES members at 27 virtual nomination events conducted across the globe. Awards will be presented at the 20th Annual VES Awards (format/timing TBD). Visit www.visualeffectssociety.com for more information.
The nominees for the 20th Annual VES Awards are:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
Dune | Paul Lambert, Brice Parker, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer
Godzilla vs. Kong | John “D.J.” Des Jardin, Tamara Kent, Bryan Hirota, Kevin Smith, Mike Meinardus
The Matrix Resurrections | Dan Glass, Nina Fallon, Tom Debenham, Huw J Evans, James Schwalm
No Time to Die | Charlie Noble, Mara Bryan, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner, Chris Corbould
Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings | Christopher Townsend, Damien Carr, Joe Farrell, Sean Walker, Dan Oliver
Spider-Man: No Way Home |Kelly Port, Julia Neighly, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein, Dan Sudick
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
Candyman | Andrew Zink, James McQuaide, Josh Simmonds, Drew Dir, Ryan Evans
Last Night in Soho | Tom Proctor, Gavin Gregory, Julian Gnass, Fabricio Baessa
Nightmare Alley | Dennis Berardi, Ryan MacDuff, Mark Hammond, David Roby, Geoff Hill
The Last Duel | Gary Brozenich, Helen Judd, Jessica Norman, Yann Blondel, Stefano Pepin
The Tragedy of MacBeth | Alex Lemke, Michael Huber, Michael Ralla, Benedikt Laubenthal
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
Encanto | Scott Kersavage, Bradford Simonsen, Thaddeus P. Miller, Ian Gooding
Luca | Enrico Casarosa, Andrea Warren, David Ryu, Jon Reisch
Raya and the Last Dragon | Kyle Odermatt, Osnat Shurer, Kelsey Hurley, Paul Felix
Sing 2 |Patrick Delage, Nathalie Vancauwenberghe, Christophe Lourdelet, Boris Jacq
The Mitchells vs. the Machines | Alan Hawkins, Carey A. Smith, Mike Lasker, Nicola Lavender
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Foundation; The Emperor’s Peace | Chris MacLean, Addie Manis, Mike Enriquez, Chris Keller, Paul Byrne
Loki; Journey Into Mystery | Dan DeLeeuw, Allison Paul, Sandra Balej, David Seager
Lost in Space; Trust | Jabbar Raisani, Terron Pratt, Juri Stanossek, Niklas Jacobson, Paul Benjamin
The Nevers; Ignition | Johnny Han, Jack Geist, Justin Mitchell, Emanuel Fuchs, Michael Dawson
The Stand |Jake Braver, Phillip Hoffman, Laurent Hugueniot, Vincent Papaix
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
9-1-1 Lone Star; Hold the Line | Brigitte Bourque, Tyler Deck, Jason Gottlieb, Josephine Noh, Elia Popov
See; Rock-A-Bye | Chris Wright, Parker Chehak, Javier Roca, Tristan Zerafa, Tony Kenny
Squid Game; VIPs | Jaihoon Jung, Hyejin Kim, Hyungrok Kim, Sungman Jun
Sweet Tooth; Sorry About All the Dead People | Rob Price, Danica Tsang, Matt Bramante, Jayme Vandusen
The Handmaid’s Tale; Chicago | Brendan Taylor, Stephen Lebed, Kayla Cabral, Brannek Gaudet
The Mysterious Benedict Society; A Bunch of Smart Orphans | Philippe Thibault, Marie-Pierre Boucher, Alexis Belanger, Gabriel Beauvais
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project
Battlefield 2042 | Anders Egleus, Jeremy Chubb, Gray Horsfield, Sean Ellis
Call of Duty: Vanguard | Sandy Lin-Chiang, Joseph Knox, Gareth Richards, Shane Daley
Forza Horizon 5 | Don Arceta, Valentyn Minytskyi, Conar Cross, George Ilenei
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Grant Hollis, Yancy Young, Steven Russell, Sean Applegate
Returnal; Playstation 5 | Harry Krueger, Tony Salkovuo, Risto Jankkila, Sharman Jagadeesan
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
Far Cry 6; Chicharrón Run | Niklas Ström, Kajsa Kurtén, Nicklas Andersson, Adrian Tsang
LEGO; Rebuild the World: Fabian Frank, Anandi Peiris, Kiril Mirkov, Platon Filimonov
Lexus; Parking Spot | Alex Thomas, Andrew McLintock, JD Yepes, Clement Renaudin
Sheba; Hope Reef | Grant Walker, Sophie Harrison, Hernan Llano, Michael Baker
Zillow; The Journey | Ben Kwok, Ashley Goodwin, Oliver Varteressian, Yebin Ahn, Tom Bussell
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
Hôtel de la Marine | Franck Lambertz, Hugues Allart, Olivier Jarry, Pierre Jury
Jurassic World Adventure | Eugénie von Tunzelmann, Maximilian McNair MacEwan, Stephen Goalby, Brad Silby
Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature
Finch; Jeff | Harinarayan Rajeev, Matthias Schoenegger, Simon Allen, Paul Nelson
Flora & Ulysses; Ulysses | Pierre-Loïc Hamon, Sachin Tyagi, Nandini Nambiar, Loïc Mireault
Jungle Cruise; Aguirre | Alexander Lee, Claus Pedersen, Rasely Ma, Gary Wu
Venom: Let There Be Carnage; Carnage | Richard Spriggs, Ricardo Silva, Lucas Cuenca, Federico Frassinelli
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature
Encanto; Mirabel Madrigal | Kelly McClanahan, Sergi Caballer, Mary Twohig, Jose Luis “Weecho” Velasquez
Luca; Luca | Gwendelyn Enderoglu, Laurie Nguyen Kim, Tanja Krampfert, Maria Lee
Raya and the Last Dragon; Tuk Tuk | Brian Menz, Punn Wiantrakoon, Erik Hansen, Vicky YuTzu Lin
The Mitchells vs. the Machines; Katie Mitchell | Lindsey Olivares, Kurt Judson, Soh-I Jeong, Rohini Kumar
Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project
Lisey’s Story; The Long Boy | Mohsen Mousavi, Salauddin “Sallu” Kazi, Mattias Brunosson, Pablovsky Ramos-Nieves
Love, Death + Robots; Snow in the Desert – Hirald | Maxime Luere, Zoé Pelegrin-Bomel, Laura Guerreiro, Florent Duport
The Witcher; Leshy Eskel – Tree Branch Creature | Hannes Faupel, Stéphane Paccolat, Ivan Cadena Ayala, Laurent Fortin
The Witcher; Nivellen the Cursed Man | Marko Chulev, Rasely Ma, Mike Beaulieu, Robin Witzsche
Y: The Last Man; Ampersand | Mike Beaulieu, Michael Dharney, Peter Pi, Aidana Sakhvaliyeva
Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial
Avanti West Coast; Feel Good Travel – Terri | Tom Raynor, Chloe Dawe, Suvi Jokiniemi, Alex Doyle
Far Cry 6; Chicharrón | Elin Laven, Gustav Ahren, Anton Stattin, Simon Decombel
France Télévision; Sumo | Geoffroy Barbet-Massin, Vincent Venchiarutti, Antoine Antin, Mathias Lachal
ING; Do Your Thing – Roary the Lion | Chris Welsby, Clementine Supiot, Kiril Mirkov, Arnau Gilabert
Smart Energy; Einstein Knows Best – Einstein | Alex Hammond, Harsh Borah, Clare Williams, Andreas Graichen
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature
Dune; Arrakeen City | Rhys Salcombe, Seungjin Woo, Jeremie Touzery, Marc Austin
Jungle Cruise; Waterfall Canyon | Mark McNicholl, Frédéric Valleur, Hamish Beachman, Mark Wainwright
Spider-Man: No Way Home; The Mirror Dimension | Eric Le Dieu de Ville, Thomas Dotheij, Ryan Olliffe, Claire Le Teuff
The Suicide Squad; Valle Del Marre | Nick Cattell, Jason Desjarlais, Matt Fitzgerald, Jerome Moo
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature
Encanto; Antonio’s Room | Camille Andre, Andrew Finley, Chris Patrick O’Connell, Amol Sathe
Luca; Portorosso Piazza | Airton Dittz, Jr., Jack Hattori, Michael Rutter, Joshua West
Raya and the Last Dragon; Talon | Mingjue Helen Chen, Chaiwon Kim, Virgilio John Aquino, Diana Jiang LeVangie
Sing 2; Crystal Theater | Ludovic Ramière, Théo Rivoalen, Henri Deruer, Frédéric Mainil
Vivo; Mambo Cabana | Bertrand Bry-Marfaing, Josef “Dylan” Swift, Geeta Basantani, Jeremy Kim
Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Foundation; Trantor Cityscape | Samuel Simanjuntak, Melaina Mace, Benjamin Ruiz, Alessandro Vastalegna
Hawkeye; Echoes – Manhattan Bridge | Nicholas Hodgson, David Abbott, Nick Cattell, Jin Choi
Hawkeye; Season 1, Episode 6 – Rockefeller Center | John O’Connell, Tiffany Yung, Orion Terry, Ho Kyung Ahn
Sheba; Hope Reef | Henrique Campanha, Baptiste Roy, Luca Veronese, Timothee Maron
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project
Encanto; We Don’t Talk about Bruno | Nathan Detroit Warner, Dorian Bustamante, Tyler Kupferer, Michael Woodside
Godzilla vs. Kong; Ocean Battle | Shawn Hull, Robert Wiese, Steven Tom, Eric Petey
Loki; Lamentis – Race to the Ark | Jesse Lewis-Evans, Luke Avery, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Scott Inkster
Raya and the Last Dragon | Rob Dressel, Adolph Lusinsky, Paul Felix
Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings | Sebastian Trujillo, Louis-Daniel Poulin, Nathan Abbot, Shannon Justison
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project
Black Widow; The Red Room | Tristan John Connors, Bo Kwon, James Stuart, Ryan Duhaime
Dune; Royal Ornithopter | Marc Austin, Anna Yamazoe, Michael Chang, Rachael Dunk
Encanto; Casita Madrigal | Jonathan Lin, Chris Patrick O’Connell, Christoffer Pedersen, Alberto Abril
The Suicide Squad; Jotunheim | Simon Dean Morley, Cedric Enriquez Canlas, Layne Howe, Alberto R. S. Hernandez
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
Dune; Dunes of Arrakis | Gero Grimm, Ivan Larinin, Hideki Okano, Zuny An
Godzilla vs. Kong; Ocean Water & Battle Destruction | Jonathan Freisler, Nahuel Alberto Letizia, Eloi Andaluz Fullà, Saysana Rintharamy
Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings; Water, Bubbles & Magic | Simone Riginelli, Claude Schitter, Teck Chee Koi, Arthur Graff
The Suicide Squad; Corto Maltese City Destruction | David R. Davies, Rogier Fransen, Sandy Sutherland, Brandon James Fleet
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
Encanto | Francisco Rodriguez, Christopher Hendryx, Brent Burley, David Hutchins
Luca | Amit Baadkar, Greg Gladstone, Emron Grover, Tim Speltz
Raya and the Last Dragon | Le Joyce Tong, Henrik Fält, Rattanin Sirinaruemarn, Jacob Rice
Sing 2 | Richard Adenot, Guillaume Gay, Frédéric Valz-Gris, Antoine Brémont
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Foundation; Collapse of the Galactic Empire | Giovanni Casadei, Mikel Zuloaga, Steven Moor, Louis Manjarres
Loki; Journey into Mystery – Alioth Cloud | George Kuruvilla, Menno Dijkstra, Matthew Hanger, Jiyong Shin
The Nevers | David Stopford, Michele Stocco, Mike Hsu, Justin Mitchell
WandaVision; Vision’s Destruction | Sylvain Nouveau, Hakim Harrouche, Omar Meradi, Laurent Meste
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting In a Feature
Black Widow; Red Room Crashing Back to Earth| Michael Melchiorre, Simon Twine, Daniel Harkness, Tim Crowson
Dune; Attack on Arrakeen | Gregory Haas, Francesco Dell’Anna, Abhishek Chaturvedi, Cleve Zhu
Dune; Hologram & Hunter Seeker | Patrick Heinen, Jacob Maymudes, TJ Burke, James Jooyoung Lee
Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings; Macau City | Jeremie Maheu, Mathieu Dupuis, Karthic Ramesh, Jiri Kilevnik
Spider-Man: No Way Home; Liberty Island Battle & Christmas Swing Finale | Zac Campbell, Frida Nerdal, Louis Corr, Kelvin Yee
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in an Episode
Loki; Lamentis – Shuroo City Destruction | Paul Chapman, Tom Truscott, Biagio Figliuzzi, Attila Szalma
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier; New World Order | Nathan Abbot, Beck Veitch, Markus Reithoffer, James Aldous
WandaVision; Goodbye, Vision | David Zaretti, Bimpe Alliu, Michael Duong, Mark Pascoe
WandaVision; The Hex | Charles Labbé, Xavier Fourmond, Reuben Barkataki, Vanessa Delarosbil
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Commercial
Toyota – Never Stop| Michael Ralla, Alejandro Villabon, Alexander Osvaldsson, Paul Krist
Toyota – Upstream | JD Yepes, Paul Krist, Carlos Adarraga Gomez, Minsang Lee
Verizon; The Reset | David Piombino, Rajesh Kaushik, Manideep Sanisetty, Tim Crean
Zillow; The Journey |Ben Kwok, Yebin Ahn, Robert Bruce, Tuna Unalan
Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project
Eternals | Neil Corbould, Keith Corbould, Ray Ferguson, Chris Motjuoadi
Jungle Cruise | JD Schwalm, Nick Rand, Robert Spurlock, Nick Byrd
The Matrix Resurrections | JD Schwalm, Brendon O’Dell, Michael Kay, Pau Costa Moeller
The Tomorrow War | JD Schwalm, Wayne Rowe, Jim Schwalm, Haukur Karlsson
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
Green | Camille Poiriez, Arielle Cohen, Eloise Thibaut, Louis Florean
Le Souffleur de Rêves | Lea Desrozier, Paul Denis, Gregoire Hoarau, Lisa Ripper
Neoshin Episode 01: Cold Blood | Sebastian Selg, Ramon Schauer, Jiayan Chen, Bea Hoeller
Relativity | Hugo Astesano, Loïc Ciaux, Guillaume Hulot, Loïc Remy
