The Visual Effects Society (VES) has elected new officers to its board of directors. Carl Rosendahl, chairman of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Pacific Data Images, has been elected to serve as VES first chair. And Richard Hollander, president and senior creative director of the feature film and theme park division of Rhythm & Hues Studios, Los Angeles, has been elected VES secretary. Rosendahl and Hollander will each serve two-year terms, expiring in January 2001.
They join returning officers Jim Morris who is VES chair, Mark Galvin who serves as second vice chair and Toni Pace-Carstensen, treasurer. Morris is president of Lucas Digital LLC, San Rafael, Calif. Galvin is exec. producer at ShadowCaster, Los Angeles. And Pace-Carsetensen serves as segment producer for Walt Disney’s upcoming Fantasia 2000. The returning officers’ two-year terms expire in January 2000.
"Under the guidance and leadership of the officers and the board of directors, the Visual Effects Society is poised to continue its growth and development as the leading organization for the visual effects industry," said exec. director Tom Atkin. In fact, since its founding in ’97, The Visual Effects Society has become the world’s largest organization of visual effects professionals, with members in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia, Canada and other worldwide territories. VES hopes to continue its growth with the further development of membership in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Rim.
“Memoir of a Snail” Takes Top Prize At London Film Festival
The Official Competition jury said: “Our jury was incredibly moved by Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail, which is a singular achievement in filmmaking. Emotionally resonant and constantly surprising, Memoir tackles pertinent issues such as bullying, loneliness and grief head-on, creating a crucial and universal dialogue in a way that only animation can. The jury is delighted to recognize an animated film alongside its live-action peers.”
Rounding out the winners of this year’s films screening In Competition are:
- Winner of the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition – On Falling (Dir. Laura Carreira)
- Winner of the Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition – Mother Vera (Dirs. Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson)
- Winner of the Short Film Award in the Short Film Competition – Vibrations from Gaza (Dir. Rehab Nazzal)