Vancouver visual effects companies up for film honours

It was a good week for Vancouver visual effects companies Image Engine and The Embassy. On Thursday morning, they received a joint nomination for best visual effects from the Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), the British Oscars, for their work on District 9. Then, Thursday night, they were in Los Angeles to pitch their District 9 work to the Academy Awards nominating committee.

This all came two days after District 9 received three nominations from the Visual Effects Society, which holds its awards ceremony on Feb. 28.

The BAFTA nomination, which Image Engine and The Embassy share with New Zealand visual effects firm Weta Digital, is one of five in the visual effects category. The other films nominated are Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek and The Hurt Locker.

For District 9, director Neil Blomkamp's film about a conflict between humans and aliens in South Africa, Image Engine was the main effects house and did all the alien effects, as well as work on helicopters, vehicles and the alien mother ship. The Embassy handled shots involving a suit worn by the main character in the film's climactic battle scene.

"For our company, as well as for The Embassy, it's fantastic to have the work recognized at that level," said Greg Holmes, CEO of Image Engine. "We hope it will send a message to filmmakers that they can come to Vancouver for film effects and trust that they will get the high-end results they're looking for."

Winston Helgason, president of The Embassy, echoed Holmes's point.

"Vancouver was always a kind of the backwoods for visual effects, but it has really come a long way in [the last] three years," said Helgason.

The BAFTA awards ceremony will be held Feb. 21.

On Thursday night, Dan Kaufman of Image Engine pitched District 9, one of seven films shortlisted, to the Academy Awards nominating committee in Los Angeles. The pitch involved a five-minute introduction, 15 minutes of clips from the film, and a brief question-answer session. Other films involved in the "bake-off" were Avatar, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek, 2012 and Terminator Salvation.

The Academy Awards nominations will be announced Feb. 2.

mandrews@vancouversun.com