Press Release: World VFX Day Releases Full Program
A free annual event to shine a spotlight on the visual effects and animation industry, every 8th December
World VFX Day has announced its final lineup of more than 65 speakers for this year’s program, which will run for over 15 hours via YouTube live stream. The event brings together in-person and virtual guests from around the globe to explore a broad range of topics shaping the industry, regional developments, and the continually evolving landscape of visual effects and animation across filmmaking, technology, and innovation.
World VFX Day is hosted by different studios and countries each year with this year’s event being hosted by Important Looking Pirates from their London studio.
Full line up:
- VFX Landscape: Americas with Ignacio Pol – Founder at CONTROL Studio, Matt von Brock – Founder at Swarm VFX, Henrique Reginato – Co-Founder at NOX VFX, Cristian Fieiras – Technical Artist
- UK Industry Spotlight with Neil Hatton – CEO at UK Screen Alliance and Gareth Kirkman – UK Business and Industry Manager at British Film Commission
- Embracing Innovation in VFX – with David Sheldon-Hicks – Founder at Territory Studio, Dariya Yaschenko – EP at TerminalFX and Ajoy Mani – Production VFX Producing Supervisor
- VFX Landscape: Asia & Beyond with Michal Kriukow – Founder at Studio Ulu, Phil Pham – Founder at Island City Solutions (ex-ILM) and Bryan Daniel – EP at Pixstone Images
- Spain’s Rise as a VFX & Animation Hub with Javier Romero – Founder at Starframe Filmworks, Ignacio Caicoya – Founder at Flaming Frames, Elena Moreno – FDI Projects Manager at ICEX Spain’s Trade Body, Gonzalo Escudero – EP at Metropolis VX (Dream Machine FX), Raul Carbo – Co-Founder at Atlantis Animation
- Founders Fireside Chat with David Li – Founder at Dream Machine FX (ILP, FIN Design, Arc Creative, Zero VFX, Mavericks VFX) and William Sargent – Co-Founder at Framestore
- VFX & Animation Supervisors: Australia & New Zealand with Denis Baudin – VFX Supervisor, Genevieve Camilleri – VFX Supervisor, and Aidan Martin – Animation Supervisor at WētāFX
- VFX: Hollywood’s Underdog with Todd Vaziri – Compositing Supervisor at ILM and Valentina Sgro – Production Manager
- Indie Studio Leadership Roundtable with Laurens Ehrmann – Founder at The Yard VFX, Brian Carbin – Co-Founder at Stone Dogs, Lucy Cooper – MD at Union VFX, and Vikas Gandhi – MD at Gelaro Grace
- VFX Innovation featuring Michael Ralla, VFX Supervisor at Warner Bros., Johnny Han, VFX Supervisor at HBO, Christina Caspers MD & Group EP at Trixter & Cinesite, Kevin Baillie, Head of Studio at Eyeline Studios, Christine Resch, Development Manager at Adobe. In partnership with the Visual Effects Society (VES) and View Conference
- An Inside Look at the Future of VFX with Alana Newell – CEO, Jasper Kidd – Creative Director/Head of Studio (UK), Jonathan Cheetham – Senior VFX Supervisor and CClare Cheetham – Executive VFX Producer
- Animated Women UK with board members: Louise Hussey, Debra Wooton, Victoria Watson, Dara McGarry, Debra Coleman
- Georges Melies: A Tribute with Kate Xagoraris Archivist and VFX artist, David Tanaka – in partnership with the Visual Effects Society (VES)
- Creative Technology with Theo Jones, VFX Supervisor at Framestore, Tom Fonvillars, Head of CG at The Yard VFX, Xuan Prada, Labs Lead at Important Looking Pirates
- Stories from Set, with VFX Supervisors Andreas Maaninka – Oasis VFX, Edward Douglas, Farhad Mohasseb – Fun & Mayhem VFX, interviewed by Ian Failes – Editor at Befores & Afters
- Bournemouth University Alumni with Dr Rehan Zia – Principal Academic and guest students/ex-students
- When 85 Artists Unite with Delcio Gomes, Head of Department, Generalist and Environments at ILM – in partnership with Chaos Group
- 100 Years of Supporting the Film & TV Industry with Marcus Ryder MBE, CEO
- Four Decades of VFX with Neishaw Ali – CEO at Spin VFX
- Unlocking Your Potential: Career Focus with Debra Coleman – Founder at Open Frame Coaching, Simon Davies – Founder at DAX (Digital Arts Exchange), Jonny Adamson – Talent Manager at DNEG, Harriet Edge-Partington – Talent Manager at Union VFX
“World VFX Day exists to shine a spotlight on VFX and animation. Our industry is often at the helm of new technology and innovation in filmmaking but the talent and skills involved are often unknown or overlooked. I hope that this gives an accessible platform for anyone keen to learn about our industry. For our industry, it’s a way to come together, share knowledge and ideas, and help strengthen our future.” Hayley Miller, Founder.
Find out more about World VFX Day: https://worldvfxday.com/ watch the 2025 showreel: https://youtu.be/NBGBLWvhgmY and subscribe to their YouTube to join the event on 8th December https://www.youtube.com/@WorldVFXDay
About World VFX Day
World VFX Day is an annual event on 8th December to celebrate, educate and inspire the industry and beyond through creative and topical showcases and panels. The 8th of December is in honour of the “grandfather of visual effects” filmmaker, Georges Méliès.
Since launching in 2023, World VFX Day has welcomed 460+ studio supporters, 150+ speakers, and over 40,000 viewers. The mission to shine a spotlight on visual effects and animation continues all year round through their meet up series, ‘Connects’ and through speaking at various conferences around the world.
Contact
Hayley Miller, World VFX Day
