World VFX Day 2025 starts now, live-streaming from 10:00 GMT (11:00 CET) on worldvfxday.com. The free, fifteen-hour programme celebrates the artistry and technology driving the global VFX and animation industries. The broadcast originates from Important Looking Pirates’ London studio, with simultaneous in-person meetups in London, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Stuttgart, Singapore, Bangkok, Toronto and New York. The full programme, showreel and live access are available at worldvfxday.com and on the World VFX Day YouTube channel.
If you’re watching elsewhere, here are your start times:
- London / UK: 10:00 GMT
- Berlin / Paris / Munich / Stuttgart: 11:00 CET
- New York / Toronto: 05:00 EST
- Los Angeles: 02:00 PST
- Singapore: 18:00 SGT
- Bangkok: 17:00 ICT
- Sydney: 21:00 AEDT
Global celebration
World VFX Day founder Hayley Miller describes the event as a platform that makes the work, ingenuity and expertise behind visual effects more visible and accessible. It’s timed each year to honour Georges Méliès, born 8 December 1861, the original magician of cinematic illusion. The global nature of today’s stream makes for a cheerful kind of chaos. Artists, producers, supervisors and technologists will tune in from every time zone to share insight, debate the future of pipelines, and celebrate the community that makes impossible imagery routine.
The programme
This year’s lineup features more than 65 speakers from studios, production houses, universities and VFX societies. Expect roundtables, fireside talks, deep-tech discussions, and a fair amount of caffeine.
| Welcome to World VFX Day! | Join Hayley Miller, Founder of World VFX Day and Eva Mautino, CEO of Important Looking Pirates for a welcome from their London studio. | 10:00 – 10:30 |
| Georges Méliès: A Tribute | A VES talk: This conversation explores the rich history of visual effects, focusing on the contributions of George Méliès. With Kate Xagoraris Archivist and VFX artist (VES Toronto), David Tanaka, VES 2nd Vice Chair, | 10:30 – 11:00 |
| Live in Studio – Meet the Team | Meet the team: Alfie Vaughan (Coffee & TV/Alfie Vaughan YouTube), Bobby Georgiev (London Siggraph), ILP team | 11:00 – 11:30 |
| Film & TV Charity: 100 Years | Marcus Ryder MBE, CEO, discusses the work of the Film and TV Charity, focusing on its mission to support the well-being of professionals in the film and television industry. | 11:30 – 12:00 |
| Unlocking Your Potential | This panel discussion discusses current trends, networking, and practical tips for job applications. | 12:00 – 12:30 |
| Live in Studio: Leadership Roundtable | Live from the studio: Join Laurens Ehrmann (The Yard), Brian Corbin (Stone Dogs), Lucy Cooper (Union VFX) and Vikas Gandhi (Gelaro Grace) as they discuss the power of independent studios. | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Live in Studio – Javier Romero | We’re joined by special guest, Javier Romero of Starframe Filmworks, a new studio based in Madrid, as well as other guests! | 13:30 – 14:00 |
| Spain’s Rise as a VFX & Animation Hub | This conversation explores the landscape of the visual effects and animation industry in Spain, highlighting the significant institutional support, the quality of talent, and the increasing collaboration among studios.Join Ignacio Caicoya Cecchini – Founder at FLAMING FRAMES, Elena Moreno Bonelo – FDI Projects Manager at ICEX, Javier Romero – Founder at STARFRAME FILMWORKS, Gonzalo Escudero – EP at Metropolis VFX (Dream/Machine FX), Raúl Carbó Perea – Co-Founder at ATLANTIS Animation. | 14:00 – 14:30 |
| Animated Women UK | The conversation explores the challenges faced by women in the visual effects and animation industries, highlighting the lack of representation and the need for supportive organizations to foster development and recognition of women’s contributions.Debra Coleman PCC, Debra Wootton, Louise Hussey, Dara McGarry and Victoria Watson | 14:30 – 15:00 |
| Live in Studio: Delcio Gomes – When 85 Artists Unite | How a Global Community Created the Short Film Everlasting with V-Ray | 15:00 – 16:00 |
| Live in Studio: An Inside Look at the Future of VFX – Crafty Apes | The session will explore how Crafty Apes’ supervisor-led model, flexible global pipeline, and multi-disciplinary talent have positioned the studio to deliver high-level work across major film and streaming projects.Featured SpeakersAlana Newell, CEO, Crafty ApesJasper Kidd, Creative Director | Head of Studio UKJonathan Cheetham, Senior VFX SupervisorClare Cheetham, Executive Producer & Head of Production | 16:00 – 17:00 |
| VFX Collaboration & Innovation | This conversation explores the evolving landscape of visual effects (VFX) in the film industry, particularly in relation to the impact of AI and new technologies. Christina Caspers (Trixter & Cinesite), Kevin Baillie (Eyeline Studios), Michael Ralla (Warner Bros), Johnny Han (HBO) and Christine Resch (Adobe). | 17:00 – 17:30 |
| Fireside Chat: Dream Machine & Framestore | Join Founder of Dream Machine FX and Co-Founder of Framestore as they discuss the current market landscape and outlook for the future. | 17:30 – 18:30 |
| Live in Studio: Nicola Kingham EP | Nicola is an award-winning VFX & Animation Production Executive Initially as Director of the Computer Animation Festival in London, and later as Director and co-founder of the London Effects & Animation Festival. | 18:30 – 19:00 |
| Live in Studio | Join for the final live in studio chat, see who has joined us in studio, competition for Foundry licenses and goodbyes! | 19:00 – 19:30 |
| VFX: Hollywood’s Underdog | In this conversation, Todd Vaziri (ILM) and Valentina Sgro discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by the visual effects (VFX) industry, particularly in the context of being perceived as underdogs in Hollywood. | 19:30 – 20:20 |
| Stories from Set | Join VFX Supervisors from the Luma Stage as they discuss their experiences on set.VFX Supervisor Panelists:Andreas Maaninka, Edward Douglas, Farhad Mohasseb, hosted by Ian Failes, befores and afters | 20:20 – 21:20 |
| Four Decades of VFX | A conversation with Neishaw Ali, CEO at Spin VFX | 21:20 – 22:00 |
| UK Industry Spotlight | This conversation focuses on the current state and future prospects of the VFX industry in the UK. | 22:00 – 22:40 |
| VFX Landscape: Americas | In this conversation the panel discusses the dramatic shifts in the visual effects industry, highlighting the peak of activity in 2022 followed by a significant decline in 2023. Ignacio Pol – Co-Founder at CONTROL Studio, Cristian Fieiras – Technical Artist, Matthew von Brock – Co-Founder at Swarm VFX and Henrique Reginato – Founder at NOX Visual Effects | 22:40 – 23:30 |
| Embracing Innovation in VFX | In this engaging panel discussion for World VFX Day 2025, industry experts David Sheldon-Hicks, Daria Yashchenko, and Ajoy Mani explore the transformative impact of AI and new technologies on the visual effects industry. | 23:30 – 00:07 |
| VFX Landscape: Asia & Beyond | The conversation explores the evolving landscape of the VFX industry, focusing on the impact of new technologies, particularly AI, on workflows and client expectations. | 00:07 – 01:00 |
| Bournemouth University Alumni | The conversation delves into the harsh realities faced by recent graduates in the job market. Moderated by Dr Rehan Zia, Principal Academic with Charli Holt (Product Manager of Mari – Foundry), Zohaib Ahsan (Senior Lighter for Film & Tv episodic – various VFX studios including Weta, Pixomondo, DNeg, Cinesite, MPC, Scanline/Eyeline), Maziar Mazaheri (Technical Artist – Lighthouse Games), Savannah Kreider (BA Computer Animation Technical Arts Graduate currently studying on MA 3D Computer Animation), Rosie Day (BA Visual Effects graduate currently studying MA Digital Effects) | 01:00 – 01:44 |
| Creative Technology | In this conversation, the panel discusses the evolving role of artists in the digital landscape. With Theo Jones – Framestore, Tom Fonvillars – The Yard VFX, Xuan Prada – Important Looking Pirates | 01:45 – 02:30 |
| Supervisor Roundtable Aus & NZ | Genevieve Camilleri (Academy nominee for ‘Love and Monsters’), Denis Baudin (VES winner for ‘Thirteen Lives’) and Aidan Martin (VES and Annies winner for ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy’). | 02:30 – 03:10 |
| Thanks and Goodbye! | 03:10 – 03:15 |
