DNEG, helmed by Namit Malhotra, bags Best Visual Effects Oscar at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony for their on-screen wizardry on Dune. The honour marks DNEG’s seventh Oscar for Best Visual Effects overall.
Hailing DNEG Union Minister for I&B and youth affairs and sports, GoI, Anurag Thakur tweeted, “Congratulations to DNEG,VFX & Animation Studio led by CEO Namit Malhotra on winning the Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category for their team’s work on Dune! India is leading the way in the AVGC sector, we’re geared up to meet the global demand w/ our innovations & talent.”
As per DNEG’s official statement, this is the sixth Academy Award received by the DNEG teams in the last eight years, and the second time the teams have received an Academy Award for a collaboration with Denis Villeneuve, following our 2018 Best Visual Effects Oscar win for Blade Runner 2049.
“Our heartfelt congratulations goes out to award winners Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer, and to our brilliant global team who poured their hearts into bringing this film to life on-screen,” it mentioned.
This also marks the third Academy Award win for Production VFX supervisor Paul Lambert, who previously took home the honour for Blade Runner 2049 and First Man, and the second Oscar win for DNEG VFX supervisor Tristan Myles who also won previously for First Man. It is the first Oscar nomination and win for DNEG VFX supervisor Brian Connor.
Dune team won six Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing and Best Cinematography!
The first installment of Dune, a science-fiction epic starring Timothee Chalamet, is both a visually treat and emotionally transporting film. The film is officially getting a sequel Dune: Part 2 which will hit theatres on 20 October 2023. It is adapted from the 1965 novel written by Frank Herbert.