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ARTFX nominated twice for the 2026 VES Awards

Date of the event :

The year is off to a positive start for ARTFX, with two nominations at the 2026 VES Awards (Visual Effects Society Awards) in the Student Project category. Two student films from the school are among the selections: Azimuth, produced on the Montpellier campus, and Two Kings, from the Lille campus.

The winners will be announced at the official ceremony scheduled for February 25 in Los Angeles. While we await the results, these nominations already demonstrate recognition of the work carried out by ARTFX students and teaching staff in a demanding international environment.

For Simon Vanesse, CEO of ARTFX, this selection reflects above all a collective effort, combining the involvement of students and the support of teaching teams, with constant attention to the artistic and technical quality of the projects.

Student projects praised by the profession

When announcing the nominations, the Visual Effects Society and its partners highlighted the ability of young creators to renew forms of visual storytelling by combining artistic approach, narrative sense, and technical mastery. This appreciation is consistent with ARTFX’s teaching philosophy, which for more than twenty years has placed creation and storytelling at the heart of its programs.

A first for the Lille campus

The nomination of Two Kings marks an important milestone for the Lille campus, as it is the first film to be nominated for the VES Awards since the site opened. Supported by the first graduating class, the project has also been selected for the Paris Images Digital Summit (PIDS), France’s leading visual effects festival. For Alexandre Pagot, director of the Lille campus, this recognition is an encouraging sign for the development of the campus and for the young graduates who are trained there. This nomination also highlights the close collaboration with our film school, Ecole 24, which did the filming before the ARTFX students added the visual effects.

Continuity in Montpellier

With Azimuth, the Montpellier campus is continuing a well-established dynamic, having seen several student films honored by the VES in recent years. Its director, Dominique Peyronnet, emphasizes the continuity of expertise built up over time, based on the experience of the teaching teams and the commitment of the students.

ARTFX alumni also nominated in professional categories

Beyond student projects, several ARTFX alumni are also among the nominees in the professional categories of the 2026 VES Awards, confirming the school’s recognition at the highest level of the visual effects industry.

  • In the Outstanding Environment in a Photoreal Feature category, Frederick Vallée (ARTFX class of 2018) is nominated for his work on The Lost Bus; The Wildfires of Roe Road.
  • In the Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature category, Amaury Rospars (ARTFX class of 2017) is nominated for F1: The Movie; Modern Race and POV Footage.

These nominations illustrate the continuity between the training provided at ARTFX and the international careers of its graduates, who are now fully integrated into major productions in the sector.

A regular presence at the VES Awards

ARTFX has already won four VES Awards with its student films: Terra Nova (2019), Green (2022), Silhouette (2024), and Pittura (2025). Last year, we had the pleasure of sending our recent graduates to Los Angeles to collect their awards. With these new nominations, ARTFX is part of a dynamic that is rarely seen, both in terms of its regular presence at the VES Awards and the diversity of its campuses. Recognition at this level, achieved by both a historic campus and a first graduating class, is unprecedented for any school in the world.

 


Azimuth movie

See the film Azimuth
See the making of Azimuth

Team composition:
Nominated:

Thomas Teisseire
Cassandre Cinier
Martin Bluy
Mathis Giraudeau

Also credited:
Chloé Coudray
Thomas Courtois
Damien Lagadeuc
François-Clément Michez
Paul Allezard
Melvin Noudel


Two Kings movie

See the film Two Kings
See the making of Two Kings

Team composition:
Nominated:

Eliot Hervier Blondel
Mathieu Keraudran
Adrian Delmotte
Jonas Lopez Del Castillo

Also credited:

Agathe LOOTENS
Ophélie MAURIN
Maël JAMIER
Lucas LEGRAND
Justine LETESTU
Gabriel PANNETRAT


Article banner photo credit: beforeandafters.com – Ian Failes

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