The 2006 Festival of Visual Effects has been set for July 7-9, 2006 at the famed Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California.
"We are thrilled to be presenting our eighth annual Festival at the Egyptian for the first time," said Visual Effects Society (VES) exec director Eric Roth. "Each year the Festival has grown in scope and number of attendees. This venue shows how much the VES has expanded as well as the visual effects industry's continually increasing influence on the business of films, animation, games and television."
The Egyptian Theatre is a major Hollywood landmark of historical significance. Originally built in 1922 for impresario Sid Grauman, it was restored and renovated by the American Cinematheque, which now operates the state-of-the-art showcase Lloyd E. Rigler theatre with 650 seats and the Steven Spielberg theatre with 83 seats. The 2006 Festival of Visual Effects will utilize both theatres during the course of this year's festival activities.
There will be presentations on such highly anticipated summer movies as SUPERMAN RETURNS, POSEIDON and CARS, in addition to such TV fare as SMALLVILLE. Panels, special screenings and other events are in the planning phase and a full line-up of activities and participants is expected to be announced by May 15.
The 2006 Festival of Visual Effects will be open to the public. Information on buying festival passes or tickets to individual events will soon be available at the official website for the 2006 Festival of Visual Effects, www.visualeffectssociety.com, or by contacting the VES office at (310) 822-9181 or info@visualeffectssociety.com.
One of Hollywood's youngest organizations, the VES was formed in 1997 in response to the explosive growth in the visual effects industry. It is a professional, honorary society, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects and to improving the welfare of its members by providing professional enrichment and education, fostering community, and promoting industry recognition. The VES is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of entertainment from film, television and commercials to music videos and games. Comprised of a diverse group of about 1,300 global members, the VES strives to enrich and educate its own members and members of the entertainment community at large through a multitude of domestic and international events, screenings and programs.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
