VES Awards Nominations: Sandworms, Apes, Felines & Tornadoes Vie For Top Film Prize
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UPDATED with ceremony hosts:Dune: Part Twoscored a leading seven nominations to lead the 2025VES Awards, which theVisual Effects Society revealed today. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi sequel will battle for the marquee Photoreal Feature category againstBetter Man, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Mufasa: The Lion KingandTwisters.
The Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature race is amongBlitz, Civil War, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One,NosferatuandYoung Woman and the Sea. Battling for VFX in an Animated Feature areThe Wild Robot — which leads all toon movies with five noms —Inside Out 2, Moana 2, Transformers OneandUltraman: Rising.
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Shōgun and The Penguinnabbed received four nominations each to lead in the episodic TV field. See the list of nominees in all 25 categories below.
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RELATED:Visual Effects Society Sets VR Pioneer Jacquelyn Ford Morie For Career Honor At VES Awards
The VES Awards recognize outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in features, animation, television, commercials, games and new media. The 23rd annual ceremony is set for February 11 at the Beverly Hilton. The Sklar Brothers are set to host the event for the first time.
“No one understands the power of visual effects more than two identical humans,” Jason Sklar said. “We are honored to have the opportunity to host the VES Awards. And if Randy isn’t funny, we’ll edit him out in post.”
Special honorees at the 2025 VES Awards include Emmy-winning actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada (VES Award for Creative Excellence), Oscar-winning director and VFX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki (VES Visionary Award) and VR/immersive technology Pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie (VES Georges Méliès Award).
RELATED:Visual Effects Society 2024 Honorees Include Brooke Breton & Four New Hall Of Famers
“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” VES Chair Kim Davidson said. “We are seeing best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation.”
The VES Awards and Movie Academy haven’t exactly seen camera eye-to-eye in recent years. Since 2013, only five of the Visual Effects Society’s marquee Photoreal Feature winners went on to score Oscars. Last year continued the trend, whenThe Creatortook the VES prize andGodzilla Minus Onegobbled up the Academy Award.
VES has 5,000-plus members from more than 50 countries. Here are its 2025 VES Awards nominees:
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Better Man
Luke Millar
Andy Taylor
David Clayton
Keith Herft
Peter Stubbs
Dune: Part Two
Paul Lambert
Brice Parker
Stephen James
Rhys Salcombe
Gerd Nefzer
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Erik Winquist
Julia Neighly
Paul Story
Danielle Immerman
Rodney Burke
Mufasa: The Lion King
Adam Valdez
Barry St. John
Audrey Ferrara
Daniel Fotheringham
Twisters
Ben Snow
Mark Soper
Florian Witzel
Susan Greenhow
Scott Fisher
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Blitz
Andrew Whitehurst
Sona Pak
Theo Demiris
Vincent Poitras
Hayley Williams
Civil War
David Simpson
Michelle Rose
Freddy Salazar
Chris Zeh
J.D. Schwalm
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Jason Neese
Armen Fetulagian
Jamie Neese
J.P. Jaramillo
Nosferatu
Angela Barson
Lisa Renney
David Scott
Dave Cook
Pavel Ságner
Young Woman and the Sea
Richard Briscoe
Carrie Rishel
Jeremy Robert
Stéphane Dittoo
Ivo Jivkov
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Inside Out 2
Kelsey Mann
Mark Nielsen
Sudeep Rangaswamy
Bill Watral
Moana 2
Carlos Cabral
Tucker Gilmore
Ian Gooding
Gabriela Hernandez
The Wild Robot
Chris Sanders
Jeff Hermann
Jeff Budsberg
Jacob Hjort Jensen
TransformersOne
Frazer Churchill
Fiona Chilton
Josh Cooley
Stephen King
Ultraman: Rising
Hayden Jones
Sean M. Murphy
Shannon Tindle
Mathieu Vig
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Fallout; The Head
Jay Worth
Andrea Knoll
Grant Everett
Joao Sita
Devin Maggio
House of the Dragon; Season 2; The Red Dragon and the Gold
Daði Einarsson
Tom Horton
Sven Martin
Wayne Stables
Mike Dawson
Shōgun; Anjin
Michael Cliett
Melody Mead
Philip Engström
Ed Bruce
Cameron Waldbauer
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 5
John Knoll
Pablo Molles
Jhon Alvarado
Jeff Capogreco
The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Eldest
Jason Smith
Tim Keene
Ann Podlozny
Ara Khanikian
Ryan Conder
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Expats: Home
Robert Bock
Glorivette Somoza
Charles Labbé
Tim Emeis
Lady in the Lake; It Has to Do With the Search for the Marvelous
Jay Worth
Eddie Bonin
Joe Wehmeyer
Eric Levin-Hatz
Mike Myers
Masters of the Air; Part Three; The Regensburg-Schweinfurt Mission
Stephen Rosenbaum
Bruce Franklin
Xavier Matia Bernasconi
David Andrews
Neil Corbould
The Penguin; Bliss
Johnny Han
Michelle Rose
Goran Pavles
Ed Bruce
Devin Maggio
The Tattooist of Auschwitz; Pilot
Simon Giles
Alan Church
David Schneider
James Hattsmith
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
YouTube TV NFL Sunday Ticket: The Magic of Sunday
Chris Bayol
Jeremy Brooks
Lane Jolly
Jacob Bergman
Disney; Holidays 2024
Adam Droy
Helen Tang
Christian Baker-Steele
David Fleet
Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer
Sebastian Caldwell
Ian Berry
Ben Cronin
Alex Grey
Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Greg McKneally
Antonia Vlasto
Ryan Knowles
Fabrice Fiteni
Six Kings Slam; Call of the Kings
Ryan Knowles
Joe Billington
Dean Robinson
George Savvas
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
D23; Real-Time Rocket
Evan Goldberg
Alyssa Finley
Jason Breneman
Alice Taylor
The Goldau Landslide Experience
Roman Kaelin
Gianluca Ravioli
Florian Baumann
MTV Video Music Awards; Slim Shady Live
Jo Plaete
Sara Mustafa
Cameron Jackson
Andries Courteaux
Tokyo DisneySea; Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure
Michael Sean Foley
Kirk Bodyfelt
Darin Hollings
Bert Klein
Maya Vyas
Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony; Run
Benjamin Le Ster
Gilles De Lusigman
Gerome Viavant
Romain Tinturier
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Better Man; Robbie Williams
Milton Ramirez
Andrea Merlo
Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Eteuati Tema
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Noa
Rachael Dunk
Andrei Coval
John Sore
Niels Peter Kaagaard
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Raka
Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Giorgio Lafratta
Tim Teramoto
Aidan Martin
Mufasa: The Lion King; Taka
Klaus Skovbo
Valentina Rosselli
Eli De Koninck
Amelie Talarmain
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Inside Out 2; Anxiety
Alexander Alvarado
Brianne Francisco
Amanda Wagner
Brenda Lin Zhang
The Wild Robot; Roz
Fabio Lignini
Yukinori Inagaki
Owen Demers
Hyun Huh
Thelma The Unicorn; Vic Diamond
Guillaume Arantes
Adrien Montero
Anne-Claire Leroux
Gaspard Roche
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Gromit
Jo Fenton
Alison Evans
Andy Symanowski
Emanuel Nevado
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Secret Level; Armored Core: Asset Management; Mech Pilot
Zsolt Vida
Péter Krucsai
Ágnes Vona
Enric Nebleza Pañella
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred; Neyrelle
Chris Bostjanick
James Ma
Yeon-Ho Lee
Atsushi Ikarashi
Disney; Holidays 2024; Octopus
Alex Doyle
Philippe Moine
Lewis Pickston
Andrea Lacedelli
Ronja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy
Nicklas Andersson
David Allan
Gustav Åhren
Niklas Wallén
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Civil War; Washington, D.C.
Matthew Chandler
James Harmer
Robert Moore
Adrien Zeppieri
Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin
Daniel Rhein
Daniel Anton Fernandez
Marc James Austin
Christopher Anciaume
Gladiator II; Rome
Oliver Kane
Stefano Farci
John Seru
Frederick Vallee
Wicked; The Emerald City
Alan Lam
Steve Bevins
Deepali Negi
Miguel Sanchez López-Ruíz
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Kung Fu Panda 4; Juniper City
Benjamin Lippert
Ryan Prestridge
Sarah Vawter
Peter Maynez
The Wild Robot; The Forest
John Wake
He Jung Park
Woojin Choi
Shane Glading
TransformersOne; Iacon City
Alex Popescu
Geoffrey Lebreton
Ryan Kirby
Hussein Nabeel
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Aqueduct
Matt Perry
Dave Alex Riddett
Matt Sanders
Howard Jones
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Dune: Prophecy; Pilot; The Imperial Palace
Scott Coates
Sam Besseau
Vincent l’Heureux
Lourenco Abreu
Dune: Prophecy; Two Wolves; Zimia Spaceport
Nils Weisbrod
David Anastacio
Rene Borst
Ruben Valente
Shōgun; Osaka
Manuel Martinez
Phil Hannigan
Keith Malone
Francesco Corvino
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Doomed to Die; Eregion
Yordan Petrov
Bertrand Cabrol
Lea Desrozier
Karan Dhandha
OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY
Better Man
Blair Burke
Shweta Bhatnagar
Tim Walker
Craig Young
Dune: Part Two; Arrakis
Greig Fraser
Xin Steve Guo
Sandra Murta
Ben Wiggs
House of the Dragon; Season 2; The Red Dragon and the Gold; Battle at Rook’s Rest
Matt Perrin
James Thompson
Jacob Doehner
P.J. Dillon
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ; Egg Climb
Dennis Yoo
Angelo Perrotta
Samantha Erickstad
Miae Kang
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station
Waldemar Bartkowiak
Trevor Wide
Matt Middleton
Ben Shearman
Deadpool & Wolverine; Ant-Man Arena
Carlos Flores Gomez
Corinne Dy
Chris Byrnes
Gerald Blaise
Dune: Part Two; The Harkonnen Harvester
Andrew Hodgson
Timothy Russell
Erik Lehmann
Louie Cho
Gladiator II; The Colosseum
Oliver Kane
Marnie Pitts
Charlotte Fargier
Laurie Priest
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding
Nicholas Papworth
Sandy la Tourelle
Lisa Nolan
Christopher Phillips
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Burning Village, Rapids and Floods
Alex Nowotny
Claude Schitter
Frédéric Valleur
Kevin Kelm
Twisters
Matthew Hanger
Joakim Arnesson
Laurent Kermel
Zheng Yong Oh
Venom: The Last Dance; Water, Fire & Symbiote Effects
Xavi Martin Ramirez
Oscar Dahlen
Hedi Namar
Yuri Yang
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Kung Fu Panda 4
Jinguang Huang
Zhao Wang
Hamid Shahsavari
Joshua LaBrot
Moana 2
Zoran Stojanoski
Jesse Erickson
Shamintha Kalamba Arachchi
Erin V. Ramos
The Wild Robot
Derek Cheung
Michael Losure
David Chow
Nyoung Kim
Ultraman: Rising
Goncalo Cabaca
Zheng Yong Oh
Nicholas Yoon Joo Kuang
Praveen Boppana
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legends; Koizilla
Ioan Boieriu
David Stopford
Per Balay
Saysana Rintharamy
Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Dominic Tiedeken
Heinrich Löwe
Charles Guerton
Timmy Lundin
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Pilot; Spaceship Hillside Takeoff
Travis Harkleroad
Xiaolong Peng
Marcella Brown
Mickael Riciotti
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Shadow and Flame; Balrog Fire and Collapsing Cliff
Koenraad Hofmeester
Miguel Perez Senent
Miguel Santana Da Silva
Billy Copley
Three Body Problem; Judgement Day
Yves D’Incau
Gavin Templer
Martin Chabannes
Eloi Andaluz Fullà
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
Better Man
Mark McNicholl
Gordon Spencer de Haseth
Eva Snyder
Markus Reithoffer
Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle
Christopher Rickard
Francesco Dell’Anna
Paul Chapman
Ryan Wing
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Joerg Bruemmer
Zachary Brake
Tim Walker
Kaustubh A. Patil
The Wild Robot
Sondra L. Verlander
Baptiste Van Opstal
Eszter Offertaler
Austin Casale
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Benjamin Bernon
Douglas Roshamn
Victor Kirsch
Charlie Raud
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 6; Jaws
Rich Grande
Tomas Lefebvre
Ian Dodman
Rey Reynolds
The Boys; Season 4; Life Among the Septics
Tristan Zerafa
Mike Stadnyckyj
Toshi Kosaka
Rajeev BR
The Penguin; After Hours
Jonas Stuckenbrock
Karen Chang
Eugene Bondar
Miky Girón
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer
Sebastian Caldwell
Alex Grey
Kanishk Chouhan
Shubham Mehta
Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Ryan Knowles
Alex Gabucci
Jack Powell
Dan Yarcigi
Corcept; Marionette
Yongchan Kim
Arman Matin
Yoon Bae
Rajesh Kaushik
Disney; Holidays 2024
Christian Baker-Steele
Luke Warpus
Pritesh Kotian
Jack Harris
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
Blitz
Hayley Williams
David Eves
Alex Freeman
David Watson
Constellation
Martin Goeres
Johara Raukamp
Lion David Bogus
Leon Mark
The Penguin; Safe Guns
Devin Maggio
Johnny Han
Cory Candrilli
Alexandre Prod’homme
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Dune: Part Two; Nuke CopyCat
Ben Kent
Guillaume Gales
Mairead Grogan
Johanna Barbier
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Artist-driven Machine Learning Character
John Bastian
Ben Ward
Thomas Rowntree
Robert Beveridge
Here; Neural Performance Toolset
Jo Plaete
Oriel Frigo
Tomas Koutsky
Matteo Oliviero Dancy
Mufasa: The Lion King; Real-Time Interactive Filmmaking, From Stage To Post
Callum James
James Hood
Lloyd Bishop
Bruno Pedrinha
The Penguin; Phase Synced Flash-Gun System
Johnny Han
Jefferson Han
Joseph Menafra
Michael Pynn
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT
Dawn(entry from ESMA – École Supérieure Des Métiers Artistiques)
Noah Mercier
Apolline Royer
Lorys Stora
Marie Pradeilles
Student Accomplice(entry from Brigham Young University)
Spencer Blanchard
Lisa Bird
Anson Savage
Kiara Spencer
Pittura(entry from ARTFX – Schools of Digital Arts)
Lauriol Adam
Lassère Titouan
Vivenza Rémi
Marre Helloïs
Courage(entry from Supinfocom – Rubika)
Salomé Cognon
Margot Jacquet
Nathan Baudry
Lise Delcroix
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1 Comment
- Katherine
Interesting. I guess Flow was ineligible or it would’ve easily been included in all of the animated categories.
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