# Celebrating the 23rd VES annual awards

Sofia Villajos

Feb 13, 2025

5 min read

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