The Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the winners for the 23rd Annual VES Awards.

The VES Awards are a prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in features, animation, television, commercials, games and new media, and the VFX Supervisors, VFX Producers and hands-on Artists who bring this work to life. This year’s awards were presented at the 23rd Annual VES Awards at The Beverly Hilton hotel in a ceremony hosted by the Sklar Brothers, Randy and Jason.

As previously announced, special honorees at the 23rd Annual VES Award included: Golden Globe nominee and Emmy Award-winning actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada, receiving the VES Award for Creative Excellence; Academy Award-winning director and Visual Effects Supervisor Takashi Yamazaki receiving the VES Visionary Award; and acclaimed Virtual Reality/Immersive Technology Pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie receiving the VES Georges Méliès Award.

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Erik Winquist
Julia Neighly
Paul Story
Danielle Immerman
Rodney Burke

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Civil War
David Simpson
Michelle Rose
Freddy Salazar
Chris Zeh
J.D. Schwalm

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

The Wild Robot
Chris Sanders
Jeff Hermann
Jeff Budsberg
Jacob Hjort Jensen

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

Shōgun; Anjin
Michael Cliett
Melody Mead
Philip Engström
Ed Bruce
Cameron Waldbauer

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

The Penguin; Bliss
Johnny Han
Michelle Rose
Goran Pavles
Ed Bruce
Devin Maggio

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT

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Fabio Silva
Matthew Sherman
Caleb Essex
Bob Kopinsky

Destiny 2: The Final Shape
Dave Samuel
Ben Fabric
Eric Greenlief
Glenn Gamble

Star Wars Outlaws
Stephen Hawes
Lionel Le Dain
Benedikt Podlesnigg
Bogdan Draghici

What If…? – An Immersive Story
Patrick N.P. Conran
Shereif Fattouh
Zain Homer
Jax Lee

Until Dawn
Nicholas Chambers
Jack Hidde Glavimans
Alex Gabor

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL

Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Greg McKneally
Antonia Vlasto
Ryan Knowles
Fabrice Fiteni

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT

D23; Real-Time Rocket
Evan Goldberg
Alyssa Finley
Jason Breneman
Alice Taylor

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Better Man; Robbie Williams
Milton Ramirez
Andrea Merlo
Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Eteuati Tema

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

The Wild Robot; Roz
Fabio Lignini
Yukinori Inagaki
Owen Demers
Hyun Huh

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Ronja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy
Nicklas Andersson
David Allan
Gustav Åhren
Niklas Wallén

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin
Daniel Rhein
Daniel Anton Fernandez
Marc James Austin
Christopher Anciaume

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

The Wild Robot; The Forest
John Wake
He Jung Park
Woojin Choi
Shane Glading

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Shōgun; Osaka
Manuel Martinez
Phil Hannigan
Keith Malone
Francesco Corvino

OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY

Dune: Part Two; Arrakis
Greig Fraser
Xin Steve Guo
Sandra Murta
Ben Wiggs

OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT

Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station
Waldemar Bartkowiak
Trevor Wide
Matt Middleton
Ben Shearman

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding
Nicholas Papworth
Sandy la Tourelle
Lisa Nolan
Christopher Phillips

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

The Wild Robot
Derek Cheung
Michael Losure
David Chow
Nyoung Kim

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Dominic Tiedeken
Heinrich Löwe
Charles Guerton
Timmy Lundin

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE

Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle
Christopher Rickard
Francesco Dell’Anna
Paul Chapman
Ryan Wing

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE

The Penguin; After Hours
Jonas Stuckenbrock
Karen Chang
Eugene Bondar
Miky Girón

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL

Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Ryan Knowles
Alex Gabucci
Jack Powell
Dan Yarcigi

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT

The Penguin; Safe Guns
Devin Maggio
Johnny Han
Cory Candrilli
Alexandre Prod’homme

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Here; Neural Performance Toolset
Jo Plaete
Oriel Frigo
Tomas Koutsky
Matteo Oliviero Dancy

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT

Pittura (entry from ARTFX – Schools of Digital Arts)
Lauriol Adam
Lassère Titouan
Vivenza Rémi
Marre Helloïs

The 23rd Annual VES Awards were held on February 11, 2025.

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