24th Annual VES Awards: Avatar, K-Pop Demon Hunters, and Ghost of Yōtei Triumph Amid Honors to Sir Richard Taylor and Jerry Bruckheimer

BEVERLY HILLS, CA -(February 26th, 2026)— “The architects of the impossible” stepped out of the digital shadows and into the spotlight at the Beverly Hilton Thursday night for the 24th Annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards. In a ceremony that spanned from the bioluminescent jungles of Pandora to the high-octane asphalt of Formula 1, the evening was less a technical seminar and more a celebration of “possibility.”

While other ceremonies honor the faces on screen, the VES Awards remain the industry’s most prestigious night for the artists and engineers who transform raw code into breathtaking cinematic worlds.

The emotional heart of the evening was anchored by Sir Richard Taylor, recipient of the VES Visionary Award. Introduced by Adam Savage as a “fearless captain” who once sculpted puppet heads out of margarine to save money, Taylor’s tribute painted a picture of a man who leads with “heart and human hands.”

Matching the evening’s reverence for craftsmanship was the presentation of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award to producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Director Joseph Kosinski, presenting the honor, noted that Bruckheimer doesn’t just produce movies; he produces “immersive experiences that audiences don’t just watch but inhabit.”

In his acceptance speech, Bruckheimer focused on a single word: Gratitude. “The definition of gratitude is the quality of being thankful… and that’s what I feel tonight.” He directed that thankfulness toward the VFX community, calling them the people who “create the magic” that draws audiences into the “dark space in the theater.”

Kosinski emphasized that for Bruckheimer, every technological breakthrough exists solely “in the service of story,” proving that the most visually extraordinary stories can also be the most profoundly human.

In the competitive categories, the night belonged to the “spicy” and rhythmic world of K-Pop Demon Hunters. The Sony Pictures Imageworks team secured three major wins, including Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature and Outstanding Character for the half-demon lead, Rumi.

The secret to their success? A rigid adherence to the beat. Animation Supervisor Joshua Beveridge told us that the BPM (beats per minute) of the music was the very first thing locked in production. “Every department had their own little way of making sure the BPMs were visual on screen,” Beveridge explained, noting that the animation team used a “bouncing ball” to stay in sync with the track.

Avatar: Fire and Ash continued its visual reign, claiming trophies for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, Outstanding CG Cinematography, and Outstanding Effects Simulations. The film’s “Kora Fire Toolset” also took home the Emerging Technology Award, proving that the technical ceiling for Pandora has yet to be reached.

Meanwhile, the racing drama F1: The Movie signaled a new frontier in high-speed realism, winning Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature for its seamless integration of modern race footage.

Major Category Winners at a Glance

View The Full Winner’s List Here

As the curtains closed at the Beverly Hilton, it was Jerry Bruckheimer who perhaps best summarized the spirit of the night. Looking out at the room of artists who make the impossible look easy, he left them with a reminder of why their work matters: “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for cinema and for creativity and for the world itself.”

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