Archive notice: This article was originally published on 26 June 2020. It has been translated into English and lightly edited for clarity while preserving its historical context. This article records awards and appointments announced in 2020.
The honourees
The Visual Effects Society named former Lucasfilm, ILM and Disney executive Ray Scalice as the 2020 recipient of its Founders Award. It also selected four new lifetime members: former Sony Pictures Imageworks executive producer Debbie Denise; Thomas Haegele, former head of the Animationsinstitut at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and founder of FMX; Richard Hollander, formerly senior visual effects supervisor at Rhythm & Hues Studios and then working on Avatar 2 and Avatar 3; and model maker Eugeen Rizzardi, whose credits included Titanic and American Beauty.
Visual Effects Society
At the time, the VES described itself as representing more than 4,000 members in over 40 countries across film, television, games and animation, including practitioners in VFX, props and model making. In 2017, RISE co-founder Florian Gellinger established the organisation’s German section.
The society’s website carried further information about the organisation and the awards. Readers researching current membership or award records should check the latest VES material before production or publication use.
