‘Dune’ Takes Top Honors at 20th Visual Effects Society Awards

Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune was the big winner at the 20th Visual Effects Society Awards, collecting four trophies including the night’s top award for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature.

Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton, Dune, from Legendary and Warner Bros. additionally earned awards for models, effects simulations and compositing. The award for outstanding VFX — which was presented by Villeneuve — went to Dune’s production VFX supervisor and two-time Oscar winner Paul Lambert, VFX producer Brice Parker, special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer, and DNEG VFX supervisors Tristan Myles and Brian Connor. DNEG was the lead VFX studio on Dune.

Also in the live-action feature categories, Spider-Man: No Way Home won a trophy for a created environment (the mirror dimension), Jungle Cruise picked up an award for practical effects, and Last Night in Soho won the prize for supporting VFX.

In the animation competition, Disney’s Encanto led the field, winning four awards including outstanding VFX in an animated feature; animated character, for Mirabel; created environment, for Antonio’s room; and virtual cinematography, for the movie’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” sequence.

Foundation won a pair of awards in the episodic categories, including one for outstanding VFX in a photoreal episode (“The Emperor’s Peace”).

During the ceremony, Lynwen Brennan, exec vp and general manager of Lucasfilm, received the VES Lifetime Achievement Award. Accepting the award, she offered her hopes for safety for the people of Ukraine.

Brennan also urged the community to work for more diversity and more recognition for the work of VFX artists. “Standing still has never been a [trait of the VFX industry], so why is it taking so long to increase diversity in our ranks? We can do better,” she said, receiving applause. “Give people chances based on their abilities, not just their résumés.”

Guillermo del Toro was the recipient of the VES Award for Creative Excellence, which his producing partner J. Miles Dale accepted on his behalf.

In an emotional moment, the audience stood and applauded as VES executive director Eric Roth remembered two giants in the VFX community who died this past year, Bill Taylor and Douglas Trumbull.

Also during his opening remarks, Roth received applause as he remembered the people of Ukraine. “Our hearts are with those brave people,” he said, adding that VES would be making donations to support humanitarian work in Ukraine and urged members to offer support.

Later in his address, he received applause as stated support for film editors, production designers and all of the creative talent that work in the eight categories that the Academy plans to present prior to the live Oscar broadcast. “No one deserves to be treated differently or singled out,” he said. “We see you. We value you and we stand with you.”

Following the ceremony, Brennan additionally talked about this topic with THR, saying, “The crafts, we are all part of this whole and to treat any part differently undervalues that, and I’m disappointed to see that happen.”

It’s become a sort of annual tradition at the VES Awards that longtime repeat host Patton Oswalt would make Roth the butt of some jokes during his opening remarks, but a broken leg prevented him from hosting this year, and “turning me into a human piñata,” Roth announced. (Intended host Drew Carey was a late cancellation.)

With nod to the history of the society, which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Pixar president and founding VES chair Jim Morris presented the first award of the evening, as well as the lifetime achievement award to Brennan.

Current chair Lisa Cooke, as well as past chairs Jeff Barnes and Jeff Okun, were among the evening’s presenters.

A complete list of the 2022 VES Award winners follows.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

WINNER 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 Courbold

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 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

WINNER 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 

WINNER 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 

WINNER 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

WINNER 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

WINNER 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

WINNER 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

WINNER Jurassic World Adventure, Eugénie von Tunzelmann, Maximilian McNair MacEwan, Stephen Goalby, Brad Silby

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature 

WINNER 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 

WINNER 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 of 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

WINNER 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 Lateral

ING; Do Your Thing; Roary the Lion – Chris Welsby, Clementine Supiot, Kiril Mirkov, Arnau Gilabert

WINNER 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

WINNER 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 

WINNER 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; “So This Is Christmas?,” Rockefeller Center – John O’Connell, Tiffany Yung, Orion Terry, Ho Kyung Ahn

WINNER Sheba; Hope Reef – Henrique Campanha, Baptiste Roy, Luca Veronese, Timothee Maron

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project 

WINNER 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 the 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

WINNER 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

WINNER 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 the 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

WINNER 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 

WINNER 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 Reste

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature 

Black Widow; Red Room Crashing Back to Earth – Michael Melchiorre, Simon Twine, Daniel Harkness, Tim Crowson

WINNER 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 the 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 

WINNER 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

WINNER 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

WINNER 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 

WINNER 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