Celebrating the 23rd VES annual awards

The 23rd Annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards brought together the industry’s finest to celebrate outstanding artistry and innovation in visual effects across film, television, animation, commercials, and beyond. Held at The Beverly Hilton, the event recognised top creative and technical achievements in 25 categories.

Among the big winners of the night, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes took home the top photoreal feature award, while Dune: Part Two led with four wins. The Wild Robot was named best animated feature, while Shōgun and The Penguin each earned three awards for their stunning visual storytelling. In the commercial category, Coca-Cola: The Heroes claimed the top prize.

The evening also honoured industry pioneers, with Keanu Reeves presenting Hiroyuki Sanada with the VES Award for Creative Excellence, Paul Debevec awarding Dr Jacquelyn Ford Morie the Georges Méliès Award for her contributions to immersive technology, and Michael Dougherty recognising Takashi Yamazaki with the Visionary Award for his outstanding work in filmmaking and VFX.

At Sohonet, we are proud to work with so many of the talented individuals and teams who were honoured at this year’s VES Awards. Their creativity and technical expertise continue to push the boundaries of visual storytelling, and we are thrilled to see their hard work recognised on such a prestigious stage.

Huge congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

‍

The winners of the 23rd Annual VES Awards in 25 categories are as follows:

‍

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
Jakob 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

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

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 Cheng
Eugene Bondar
Miky Girón

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL

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

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 Olivieri-Dancey

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT

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

‍