‘Dune’ Leads Visual Effects Society Awards Nominations

Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel of the same name, leads the feature competition of the 20th Visual Effects Society Awards, which also marks the 25th anniversary of the Society’s founding. Due to the COVID surge, VES is still considering the format and timing for this year’s presentation.

Warner Bros.’ Dune earned six nominations including one in the top category for outstanding VFX in photoreal feature. In that category, it’s nominated alongside Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which followed with four nominations; Spider-Man: No Way Home and Godzilla vs. Kong, with three nominations apiece; The Matrix Resurrections; and No Time to Die.

These six movies, along with Black Widow, Eternals, Free Guy and Ghostbusters: Afterlife are also shortlisted for the Oscars’ visual effects category.

In only three of the last 10 years (and only once in the last five years) did the winner of VES’ top award for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature go on to win the Oscar in VFX; those that did were Life of Pi (in 2013), Gravity (2014) and, most recently, The Jungle Book (2017). Twice in the last 10 ceremonies, the winner of the VES Award in the category for supporting feature VFX won the VFX Oscar (Hugo in 2012 and First Man in 2019). First Man’s VFX supervisor Paul Lambert, who won a second Oscar for Blade Runner 2049, is nominated for the top VES award this year for Dune.

A year ago, The Midnight Sky won VES’ top award, and Tenet claimed the VFX Oscar. The work on Tenet was led by VFX house DNEG, which is also the lead VFX house on Dune.

Of the VES-nominated animated features, Disney’s Encanto leads with six nominations, followed by Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon and Pixar’s Luca with five apiece. Disney/Marvel’s Loki leads the broadcast field with four nominations.

A complete list of the 2022 VES Award nominees follows.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

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

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 

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 

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

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

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

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

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

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature 

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 

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

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 Lachal

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

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

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 

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

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

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project 

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

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

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

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 

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 Meste

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature 

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

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 

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

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

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 

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