VES Announces UK Awards Ceremony

The London Section of the Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced their UK Visual Effects Society Awards ceremony, which will honour the best artistry in visual effects and filmed entertainment.

The event takes place on 17 March, 2016. Highlights of the 14th Annual VES Awards, held in Los Angeles, will also be shown.

At the ceremony, Steve Begg, visual effects supervisor, will receive the Vanguard Award for Leadership and the Advancement of Visual Effects in the UK. Meanwhile, actor Jim Broadbent is to receive the Inspiration Award for promoting awareness of visual effects through his work.

2016 is Steve Begg's 30th year in the business, having started his career working on models and miniatures on the films Aliens and Batman. Born in Edinburgh, Steve is active in promoting UK filmmaking and recently petitioned the Scottish government to build a film studio in Scotland in order to provide production facilities to projects considering filming in Scotland.

He has also contributed to UK cinema through his work on the James Bond franchise, including Casino Royale, Spectre and Skyfall, among other VFX-heavy projects filmed or completed in the UK. Steve was honoured with a BAFTA Scotland Craft Award for outstanding contribution to film or television in 2013.

Credited on IMDB as 'one of England's most versatile character actors', Inspiration Award recipient Jim Broadbent's body of work spans four decades with almost 150 films. He has been honoured with 22 wins and 46 nominations for his diverse performances including Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, International Emmy, Royal Television Society, London Critics Circle Film Awards (ALFS) and Evening Standard British Film Award wins and British Independent Film Award, Screen Actors Guild and a host of other nominations.

He has starred in many visual effects driven and animated films such as Paddington, Cloud Atlas, Arthur Christmas, The Chronicles of Narnia, Moulin Rouge, and also as Professor Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter franchise to name but a few.

VES UK Chair, Brooke Lyndon-Stanford, said: "The UK VES Awards are inspired by the fact that the biggest box office hits of all time are visual effects-driven, yet very few know who the artists are. We want to highlight these achievements and give the stars of VFX worldwide recognition. The night is a very special take on an awards show, and thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, will be one like no other!"

www.visualeffectssociety.com

(JP/LM)