“Avatar: The Way of Water” came out on top at the Visual Effects Society’s 2023 VES Awards, held Wednesday evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
The James Cameron epic set a VES record this year with 14 nominations in nine different categories, and it set a record for wins by coming out on top in every category in which it was nominated. By contrast, the original 2009 “Avatar” received 10 nominations and won five awards. The previous record for wins by a film was set by “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” at the first VES Awards in 2003, when it won eight awards. (The show had fewer awards then than it does now.)
The nine awards for “Avatar: The Way of Water” included Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the VES category that aligns most closely with the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Competing with “Avatar” in the Oscar category are “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” and “The Batman,” none of which scored wins at the VES Awards.
While “Avatar” is a prohibitive favorite to win the Oscar, it’s worth nothing that the VES Award and Oscar winners have only matched five times in the last decade.
“As we celebrate the 21st Annual VES Awards, we’re honored to keep shining a light on remarkable visual effects artistry and innovation,” said VES Chair Lisa Cooke in a statement. “In all of our colleagues honored tonight, we see best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of adaptation and ingenuity — talents that have kept audiences engaged and uplifted, now, more than ever. The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding global artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our winners and nominees!”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won three awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, with “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” winning Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature. “Thirteen Lives” won the award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.
All of the VES Awards for film went to one of those four movies, with “Avatar” taking almost two-thirds of those.
In the television categories, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” won three awards, with “Five Days at Memorial,” “The Last of Us,” “The Umbrella Academy,” and “Love, Death, and Robots” also winning categories.
The show was hosted by Patton Oswalt. Gale Anne Hurd received the VES Lifetime Achievement award, which was presented to her by James Cameron.
The full list of winners:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Avatar: The Way of Water” Richard Baneham, Walter Garcia, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, JD Schwalm
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Thirteen Lives” Jason Billington, Thomas Horton, Denis Baudin, Michael Harrison, Brian Cox
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” Aaron Weintraub, Jeffrey Schaper, Cameron Carson, Emma Gorbey
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Udûn” Jason Smith, Ron Ames, Nigel Sumner, Tom Proctor, Dean Clarke
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: “Five Days at Memorial,” “Day Two” Eric Durst, Danny McNair, Matt Whelan, Goran Pavles, John MacGillivray
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project: “The Last of Us,” “Part I” Erick Pangilinan, Evan Wells, Eben Cook, Mary Jane Whiting
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial: “Frito-Lay; Push It” Tom Raynor, Sophie Harrison, Ben Cronin, Martino Madeddu
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project: “ABBA Voyage” Ben Morris, Edward Randolph, Stephen Aplin, Ian Comley
Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Kiri; Anneka Fris, Rebecca Louise Leybourne, Guillaume Francois, Jung Rock Hwang
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; Pinocchio” Oliver Beale, Richard Pickersgill, Brian Leif Hansen, Kim Slate
Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project: “The Umbrella Academy,” Pogo; Aidan Martin, Hannah Dockerty, Olivier Beierlein, Miae Kang
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” The Reef; Jessica Cowley, Joe W. Churchill, Justin Stockton, Alex Nowotny
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” In the Stomach of a Sea Monster; Warren Lawtey, Anjum Sakharkar, Javier Gonzalez Alonso, Quinn 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 Wheaton Nico Delbecq, Dan Letarte, Julien Gauthier
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project: “Avatar: The Way of Water” Richard Baneham, Dan Cox, Eric Reynolds, AJ Briones
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” The Sea Dragon; Sam Sharplin, Stephan Skorepa, Ian Baker, Guillaume Francois
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Water Simulations; Johnathan Nixon, David Moraton, Nicolas James Illingworth, David Caeiro Cebrian
Oustanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature: “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” Derek Cheung, Michael Losure, Kiem Ching Ong, Jinguang 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 Hankins, Aron Bonar, Branko Grujcic, Laurent Kermel
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Water Integration; Sam Cole, Francois Sugny, Florian Schroeder, Jean Matthews
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in an Episode: “Love, Death and Robots,” “Night of the Mini Dead” Tim Emeis, José Maximiano, Renaud Tissandié, Nacere Guerouaf
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Commercial: “Ladbrokes,” “Rocky” Greg Spencer, Theajo Dharan, Georgina Ford, Jonathan Westley
Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Current Machine and Wave Pool; JD Schwalm, Richard Schwalm, Nick Rand, Robert Spurlock
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project (Award Sponsored by Autodesk): “A Calling. From the Desert. To the Sea” Mario Bertsch, Max Pollmann, Lukas Löffler, Till Sander-Titgemeyer
Emerging Technology Award: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Water Toolset; Alexey Stomakhin, Steve Lesser, Sven Joel Wretborn, Douglas McHale
