World VFX Day has announced its first round of speakers for the 2025 edition, broadcasting live on 8 December. Founded in 2023 by Hayley Miller, the annual event has quickly become a fixture for VFX and animation professionals worldwide, part celebration, part industry summit, and completely free to attend.
This year’s 12-hour livestream will once again originate from London – the hybrid format allows both in-person and online participation, connecting artists and studios across time zones in one continuous global broadcast.
A Strong Start to the Speaker Line-Up
The 2025 roster reads like a who’s who of modern visual effects. Denis Baudin, Genevieve Camilleri, and Aidan Martin from WētāFX open the programme with the VFX & Animation Supervisor Roundtable, an insider discussion on creative direction and team leadership at the highest level.
ILM’s compositing veteran Todd Vaziri joins Valentina Sgro for “VFX: Hollywood’s Underdog”, tackling the question of how visual effects are perceived and valued within major studio production pipelines.
Leadership takes the spotlight in a fireside chat with David Li (Dream Machine FX, ILP, FIN Design, Arc Creative, Zero VFX, Mavericks VFX) and William Sargent (Framestore). The conversation will focus on running studios across continents while keeping both creative integrity and artist wellbeing intact.
The panel “VFX Innovation” brings together Michael Ralla (Warner Bros.), Johnny Han (HBO), Christina Caspers (Trixter & Cinesite), Kevin Baillie (Eyeline Studios), and Christine Resch (Adobe), in association with the Visual Effects Society (VES) and the View Conference, to examine current technology shifts and production trends.
In “An Inside Look at the Future of VFX,” Alana Newell, Clare Cheetham, Jonathan Cheetham and Jasper Kidd of Crafty Apes London share their perspective on studio growth, creative collaboration, and adapting to the evolving demands of modern production.
ILM’s Delcio Gomes presents “When 85 Artists Unite,” a case study developed with Chaos Group that highlights collective creativity and technical problem-solving under production pressure.
Marcus Ryder MBE will mark “100 Years of Supporting the Film & TV Industry,” and the Leadership Roundtable will feature Laurens Ehrmann (The Yard VFX), Brian Carbin (Stone Dogs), Lucy Cooper (Union VFX), and Vikas Gandhi (Gelaro Grace), exploring what it takes to guide independent studios in today’s competitive landscape.
Additional speakers and sessions are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
A Platform for Collaboration and Change
According to founder Hayley Miller, the mission of World VFX Day is to “elevate our industry in the eyes of the wider world” while sparking collaboration, new ideas, and shared growth. The emphasis this year continues to be on diversity, inclusivity, and the long-term sustainability of VFX as both a craft and a business.
Since its first edition, World VFX Day has reached more than forty thousand viewers, with the support of over four hundred sixty studios and one hundred fifty speakers. The initiative extends beyond the annual livestream through its “Connects” meet-up series and participation in major industry conferences.
Honouring the Origins of VFX
World VFX Day takes place every 8 December in honour of Georges Méliès, regarded as the grandfather of visual effects. The date serves as both a tribute and a forward-looking platform for discussing the art, craft, and evolving role of VFX within film, television, and games.
