James Cameron’s latest epic garnered 10 nominations, while ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘Elio,’ and ‘Zootopia 2’ each snagged 5, as nominees are announced in 25 categories across film, television, real-time, and special venue projects; ceremony set for February 25 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA.20th Century Studios and Lightstorm Entertainment's leads all nominees across 25 categories for the 24th Annual VES Awards, the yearly celebration of the Visual Effects Society (VES) that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in features, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists responsible for its creation.The awards ceremony is set for February 25, 2026 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
In feature films, James Cameron’s newest franchise epic garnered 10 nominations. Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation’s , Disney and Pixar's , and Disney's each received five nominations to top the animation-related category contenders.Netflix's , HBO's , and BBC Studios' tied atop the episodic field with four nominations each.“Visual effects artists and producers are at the forefront of cinematic artistry and technological innovation, whether their work is being seen on the big screen in a movie theater, on the device in your pocket, or in a special venue setting,” said VES Board Chair, Kim Davidson.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate all of this year’s nominees, and we’re grateful to our member volunteers from around the world who make our rigorous peer review process possible.” Nominees were selected by VES members worldwide over the weekend via the Society’s Global Nomination Event, which hosted 46 in-person and 14 virtual judging panels.The 60 peer-led judging panels in seven worldwide regions – Asia, Europe, India, Oceania, and three in North America – show the Society’s global reach and engagement.“Whether it’s through a fully immersive environment, realistic characters, or jaw-dropping action sequences, visual effects artists continue to push the boundaries of creativity and transform the way stories are told,” said Diana Colella, Executive Vice President of Media & Entertainment at Autodesk, sponsor of the VES-Autodesk Student Award.
“This year’s student film submissions celebrate the technical talent and creativity of up-and-coming visual effects artists.Congratulations to all the student nominees.” As previously announced, comedy duo Randy and Jason Sklar (the Sklar Brothers) will return to host the 24th Annual VES Awards for the second consecutive year.This year’s special honorees will include acclaimed film producer Jerry Bruckheimer receiving the VES Lifetime Achievement Award, and Wētā Workshop co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Sir Richard Taylor receiving the VES Visionary Award.
This year’s nominees are as follows: OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE Ryan Tudhope Nikeah Forde Robert Harrington Nicolas Chevallier Keith Alfred Dawson David Vickery Carlos Ciudad Steve Aplin Charmaine Chan Neil Corbould, VES Charlie Noble Gavin Round David Zaretti Russell Bowen Brandon K.McLaughlin Richard Baneham Peter Litvack Eric Saindon Nicky Muir Steve Ingram Christian Manz Christopher Raimo Glen McIntosh Glenn Melenhorst Terry Palmer OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE Tim Crosbie Celeste Chen Christian Sjöstedt Lea Benjovitz Chris Harvey Dione Wood Jon Mitchell Matthew Lane Simon Stanley-Clamp Kaley Edwards Andrew Kinnear Samir Ansari Ryan Conder Michael Ralla James Alexander Nick Marshall Espen Nordahl Donnie Dean Fabio Cerrito Virginia Cefaly Marco Fiorani Parenzi Maura Manfredi OUTSTANDING ANIMATION IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE Pierre Perifel Damon Ross Matt Baer Benjamin Willis Joshua Beveridge Jacky Priddle Benjamin Hendricks Clara Chan Gregory Smith Laurie Au Marlon West Shweta Viswanathan Sacha Kapijimpanga Carey Smith Nicola Lavender Steve Pilcher Claudia Chung Sanii Mary Alice Drumm Harley Jessup Dave Quirus OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE Mohen Leo TJ Falls Scott Pritchard Olivier Beaulieu Luke Murphy Daryl Sawchuk Steve Dellerson Pier Lefebvre Steven Tether Darcy Callaghan Alex Wang Fiona Campbell Westgate Nick Epstein Philip Engström Joel Whist Russell Dodgson Tracey Gibbons Francois Dumoulin Gavin McKenzie Betsy Paterson Tessa Roehl Michael Maher Jr.Martin Hill OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE Rob Duncan Ashlee Turner Jean-Nicolas Costa Adrian Eugene Daniel Williams Seth Hill Tesa Kubicek John Nelson Gabriel Vargas Jao M'Changama Justine Paynat-Sautivet Sébastien Voisin Xavier Allard Pau Costa Moeller Eric Leven Sean Findley Brian Holligan Radost Ridlen Rainer Gombos Steve Kullback Marko Ljubez David Ramos OUTSTANDING VISUAL ARTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT Jason Connell Matt Vainio Joanna Wang Jasmin Patry Hideo Kojima Yoji Shinkawa Shota Hirasawa Todd Boyce Andrew Willis Ian Malerich Derek Best Ian Mac Gregor Yasmeen Leclerc Petro Kosariekov Connor Bugni Chris Bayol Sean Tomek Skye White Jacob Bergman OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL Bruno Fukumothi Ella Glazer David Fleet Martino Madeddu Tom Raynor Helen Tang Jack Harris Alex Kulikov Sebastian Caldwell Larisa Covaciu Ben Cronin Alex Grey Kamen Markov Alexia Paterson David Lochhead Henrique Campanha Michael Ralla James Alexander Brian Creasey Luca Pelegatta OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT Ben Grossmann Tamara Watts Kent Dr.
Irfan Essa Matt Dougan Glenn Derry Rich Enders Kirk Bodyfelt Darin Hollings Darren Simpson Alan Woods Maximilian McNair MacEwan Jason Fox Iris Chailloux Tim Lutkin Patrick Aigouy Adrien Mourey Lydia Caplan Julien Héry Antoine Sitruk Simon Lecavalier Martin Hesselink OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE Kevin Estey Fabio Leporelli Matteo Stirati Nick Grace Matthew Shumway Claus Pedersen Xiying Zhai Enrique Mateo-Sagasta Loic Mireault Martine Chartrand Marianne Morency Matthias Schoenegger Stephen Clee Stuart Adcock Keven Norris Joseph Kim OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE Catherine Luo Anna-Christine Lykkegaard Ferdi Scheepers Julian Teo Marco Burbano Edgar Rodriguez Ben Rush Patrick Yu Wang Adam Green Jennifer Stratton Christoffer Pedersen Jesse Erickson Sophia (Seung Hee) Lee Andrea Centeno Marc Souliere Joshua Beveridge OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODIC, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT Philip Harris-Genois Pierric Danjou Chloe Ostiguy Jonathan Bourdua Théo Perronard Yan Morin-Dubuisson Yan Detang Jonathan Fleming-Bock James Moore Layne Howe Shawn Warawa Yoshihiro Harimoto Alvise Avati Marc-André Coulombe Youen Leclerc Andrea De Martis OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE Jared Michael Noor Valibhoy Cody Gramstad Stefan Litterini Jamie Haydock Francesco Ferraresi Sergei Konorev Frederick Vallee Gianluca Pizzaia Steve Bevins Dziga Kaiser Zsolt Máté David Schulz Mareike Loges Björn Markgraf Philipp Hafellner Daniel James Cox Yosuke Inomata Clint Rea Gabriel Pires OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE Limei Z.Hshieh Alexander Nicholas Whang Joshua Fry Ryan DeYoung Steve Arguello Christopher M.Burrows Andy Lin Laura Murphy Rafael Lescano Gunsik Kim Tyquane Wright Hee-Chel Nam John J.
Lee Greg Hettinger Mikael Genachte-Le Bail Mayumi Shimokawa OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODIC, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT Sylvain Lesaint Ilyes Boutemeur Blake Dewoody Benjamin Rojek John O’Connell Falk Boje Hasan Ilhan Kevin George Romain Simonnet Abraham Ibanez David Desplat Minguk Lee Gabriel Vargas Eric Schoellnast Andrew Wilkins Omer Gurkan OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY Tyler Kupferer Daniel Rice Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay Steve Deane AJ Briones Zachary Brake Andrew Moffett Jhon Alvarado Michael Beaulieu Jayden Beveridge Hayley Kim Benjamin Hendricks Gary H.Lee Randolph Lizarda Linh Mai Nguyen Chan OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT Bikas Panigrahi Nikolai Razuev Ajinkya Nitin Phokmare Manoj Vijay Kamble Marco Chau Giorgio Pennisi Sowmya Ramakumar Balazs Meszaros Michael Smale Sam Sharplin Joe W.Churchill Jacqi Dillon Crystal Bretz Martin Pelissier Klaudio Ladavac Conner Wessinger OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE Nicholas Illingworth Sarah C.
Farmer James Robinson Ryan Bowden Rick Hankins Marcel Kern Eric Hollands Masoud Aziminajjar Billy Copley Mathieu Chardonnet Chetan Patkar David Schott Darcy George Andrew Dunkerley Ray Leung Steve Oakley OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE Stephanie McNair Dmitiry Kolesnik Stephen Paschke David Sellares Michael Losure Landon Gray Zachary Glynn Steve Avoujageli Sujil Sukumaran Stuart Griese Zoran Stojanoski Paul Carman Filippo Maccari Nikolaos Finizio Daniel La Chapelle Srdjan Milosevic OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT Björn Åkerstedt Anders Egleus Kasra Kalami Craig Moroney Duarte Victorino Claudio Gonzalez Andre Castelao Igor Bondar Edward Ferrysienanda Kevin Christensen Guy Schuleman Kevin Tarpinian Michael Chrobak Brandon James Fleet Yasunobu Arahori Hoi Ying Fung OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE Ziad Shureih Stefano Oggeri Jaume Creus Costabella Hugo Debat-Burkarth Hugo Gauvreau Chris Davies Raushan Raj Amaury Rospars Can Chang Nicolas Caillier Bryan Smeall Elona Musha Alex Klaricich Gianfranco Sgura Brad Floyd Ari Ross OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE Spencer Hecox Gunnar Heiss Alexander Greenberg Eric Schoellnast Ben Roberts Rachel E.Herbert Don Bradford Ken Lam Tobias Wiesner Mark Julien Owen Longstaff Brendan Naylor Puff Pisanwalerd Jean-Baptiste Noyau Marion Nove-Josserand Sue Nelson OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL Hudson Martins Luke Warpus Jinhui Wang Alex Miller Alex Kulikov Jack Harris Adam Chabane Nicola Borsari Alex Grey Sebastian Caldwell Nicola Borsari Giacomo Cavaletti Greg McKneally Christian Block Alberto Pizzocchero Alessandro Granella OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT Hudson Kenny Curtis Carlson John Koyama Bruno Larizza Luke Murphy Dean Ford Jody Eltham Darrell Guyon David Munier Ana Gabriela Lacaze Jonathan Page Anna-Christine Lykkegaard John Bastian Ben Ward Thomas Rowntree Robert Beveridge Christoph Sprenger Tobias Mack Florian Fernandez Niall Ryan Andrew Butts Trent Crow Anna-Christine Lykkegaard Catherine Luo Alexey Dmitrievich Stomakhin John Edholm Murali Ramachari Aleksandr Isakov OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT Antoine Barbannaud Leandro Leijnen Timothé Vergught Mathis De Sauvecanne Ciara Borgards Two Kings Eliot Hervier Blondel Mathieu Keraudran Adrian Delmotte Jonas Lopez Del Castillo Thomas Teisseire Cassandre Cinier Martin Bluy Mathis Giraudeau Tobias Eckerlin Vincent Maurer Elias Weber Lilli-Luisa Heckmann For more information about the VES, visit https://www.vesglobal.org/.Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network. Visual Effects Society Announces VES Handbook Fourth Edition 24th Annual VES Awards Special Honorees Announced 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' Wins for Best VFX in a Feature at 23rd VES Awards
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