Visual Effects Society Announces Nominees for 18th Annual VES Awards

Member News  |  09 January 2020

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL and THE LION KING Garner Most Feature Film Nominations.

This week, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the nominees for the 18th Annual VES Awards, the prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to lifeALITA: BATTLE ANGEL and THE LION KING garner the most feature film nominations with five nominations each; and GAME OF THRONES and THE MANDALORIAN tie to lead the broadcast field with six nominations each.

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create truly remarkable imagery in a variety of media. We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways.  The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!”

Mike Chambers, VES Chair.

Nominees in 25 categories were selected by VES members via events hosted by 11 Sections, including Australia, the Bay Area, Germany, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, New Zealand, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington. The VES Awards will be held on January 29 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Award-winning actor-comedian-author Patton Oswalt will once again host the VES Awards.

“The Visual Effects Society Student Award recognizes the incredible work produced by up-and-coming talent from around the world. The passion, imagination, and artistry shown by the next generation of artists and storytellers is truly inspiring, and collaborating with the VES to recognize that talent is a huge honor.”

Diana Colella, VP Business Strategy & Marketing, Media & Entertainment, Autodesk.

The nominees for the 18th Annual VES Awards in 25 categories are as follow:


Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL – Richard Hollander, Kevin Sherwood, Eric Saindon, Richard Baneham, Bob Trevino.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME – Daniel DeLeeuw, Jen Underdahl, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Daniel Sudick.

GEMINI MAN – Bill Westenhofer, Karen Murphy-Mundell, Guy Williams, Sheldon Stopsack, Mark Hawker.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER – Roger Guyett, Stacy Bissell, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy.

THE LION KING – Robert Legato, Tom Peitzman, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones.


Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

1917 – Guillaume Rocheron, Sona Pak, Greg Butler, Vijay Selvam, Dominic Tuohy.

FORD V FERRARI – Olivier Dumont, Kathy Siegel, Dave Morley, Malte Sarnes, Mark Byers.

JOKER – Edwin Rivera, Brice Parker, Mathew Giampa, Bryan Godwin, Jeff Brink.

THE AERONAUTS – Louis Morin, Annie Godin, Christian Kaestner, Ara Khanikian, Mike Dawson.

THE IRISHMAN – Pablo Helman, Mitchell Ferm, Jill Brooks, Leandro Estebecorena, Jeff Brink.


Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

FROZEN 2 – Steve Goldberg, Peter Del Vecho, Mark Hammel, Michael Giaimo.

KLAUS – Sergio Pablos, Matthew Teevan, Marcin Jakubowski, Szymon Biernack.

MISSING LINK – Brad Schiff, Travis Knight, Steve Emerson, Benoit Dubuc.

THE LEGO MOVIE 2 – David Burgess, Tim Smith, Mark Theriault, John Rix.

TOY STORY 4 – Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen, Bob Moyer, Gary Bruins.

View the full list of categories and nominations here.

UK Screen Alliance would like to wish all of our members’ teams who have worked on the nominated titles good luck in the 18th Annual VES Awards!

Animation UK SUPPORTERS