Culver City/Vancouver-based visual effects house Zoic Studios has added to its game division veteran Dutch game industry vet Paulus Bannink as creative & technical director. He comes to Zoic from Sony Computer Entertainment and Guerrilla Games where he worked on the Killzone game series since its inception in 2004. His diverse experience in game development encompasses both technical development and artist roles, working to develop pipelines and also remaining nimble to adapt his creative work to already existing pipelines….NY based independent VFX and design house Phosphene, continues the expansion of its core creative team with the addition of CG supervisor Vance Miller, lead digital artist Eddie Porter, and lead compositor Scott Winston. In addition, lead digital artist Aaron Raff has been promoted to VFX supervisor….Envision Media Arts (EMA), Hollywood, has signed director Jason House who has already wrapped commercial projects at his new roost for Ford, Honda and Eli Lilly….
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More