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The 21st Annual VES Awards was held by the Visual Effects Society at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water dominated the awards with nine wins.
With a record 14 nominations, James Cameron’s acclaimed sequel entered the Visual Effects Society ceremony. It surpassed the previous record for film established by the 2010 nominations for the original Avatar, which received 11 nominations. That day, it also took home the society’s marquee award before winning the VFX Oscar.
The Way of Water also won awards for character, environment, model, virtual cinematography, and the marquee prize for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.
Amazon Studios, MGM, and United Artists Releasing’s harrowing account of the 2018 Thai cave rescue, Thirteen Lives, took home the award for Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, while Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix led the field for animation with three victories, including Visual Effects in an Animated Feature.
Along with the jury winners that were previously revealed, here are the 2023 VES Awards winners:
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water
Richard BanehamWalter GarciaJoe LetteriEric SaindonJD Schwalm
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Aaron WeintraubJeffrey SchaperCameron CarsonEmma Gorbey
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
Frito-Lay; Push It
Tom RaynorSophie HarrisonBen CroninMartino Madeddu
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Udûn
Jason SmithRon AmesNigel SumnerTom ProctorDean Clarke
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Thirteen Lives
Jason BillingtonThomas HortonDenis BaudinMichael Harrison Brian Cox
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Five Days at Memorial; Day Two
Eric DurstDanny McNairMatt WhelanGoran PavlesJohn MacGillivray
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; Pinocchio
Oliver BealeRichard PickersgillBrian Leif HansenKim Slate
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
The Umbrella Academy; Pogo
Aidan MartinHannah DockertyOlivier BeierleinMiae Kang
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water; Kiri
Anneka FrisRebecca Louise LeybourneGuillaume FrancoisJung Rock Hwang
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water; Water Simulations
Johnathan NixonDavid MoratonNicolas James IllingworthDavid Caeiro Cebrian
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Derek CheungMichael LosureKiem Ching OngJinguang Huang
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Udûn; Water and Magma
Rick HankinsAron BonarBranko GrujcicLaurent Kermel
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water; Water Integration
Sam ColeFrancois SugnyFlorian SchroederJean Matthews
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Ladbrokes; Rocky
Greg SpencerTheajo DharanGeorgina FordJonathan Westley
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
Love, Death + Robots; Night of the Mini Dead
Tim EmeisJosé MaximianoRenaud TissandiéNacere Guerouaf
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
Avatar: The Way of Water; Current Machine and Wave Pool
JD SchwalmRichard SchwalmNick RandRobert Spurlock
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Avatar: The Way of Water; The Sea Dragon
Sam SharplinStephan SkorepaIan BakerGuillaume Francois
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Avatar: The Way of Water; Water Toolset
Alexey Dmitrievich StomakhinSteve LesserSven Joel WretbornDouglas McHale
OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT
Richard BanehamDan CoxEric ReynoldsA.J Briones
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water; The Reef
Jessica CowleyJoe W. ChurchillJustin StocktonAlex Nowotny
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; In the Stomach of a Sea Monster
Warren LawteyAnjum SakharkarJavier Gonzalez AlonsoQuinn Carvalho
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Adar; Númenor City
Dan WheatonNico DelbecqDan LetarteJulien Gauthier
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
The Last of Us Part I
Erick PangilinanEvan WellsEben CookMary Jane Whiting
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
ABBA: Voyage
Ben MorrisEdward RandolphStephen AplinIan Comley
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT (AWARD SPONSORED BY AUTODESK)
A Calling. From the Desert. To the Sea
Mario BertschMax PollmannLukas LöfflerTill Sander-Titgemeyer
WINSOR McCAY AWARD (Juried winners)
Pete DocterEvelyn LambartCraig McCracken
UB IWERKS AWARD (Juried winner)
Visual Effects Reference Platform
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT AWARD (Juried winner)
John Omohundro