Thu May 21, 2026 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm CEST
| Conference
Date: May the 21st (Thursday)
Time: 11:00 am PDT / 2:00 pm EDT / 8:00 pm CET
Zoom Webinar · Open to Public
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Azimuth: Behind the Frames of Azimuth · ArtFX Montpellier Graduates · Winner of the VES Awards 24th Edition – Student Category
Thomas Teisseire:
Is a director focused on telling stories through previs, layout, and FX.
Thomas Courtois:
An FX TD, Project Manager, and Pipeline TD on Azimuth. I’m based in Montpellier, France, and studied at ArtFX as an FX artist. I’m always looking for new technical challenges, and Azimuth definitely provided plenty of them.
François-Clément Michez:
(Digital Compositor at Important Looking Pirates VFX) and I was the Compositor as well as Cinematographer on this year’s Student VES Award, AZIMUTH
Mathis Giraudeau:
A French 3D animator graduated from ArtFX. I specialize in high-end keyframe animation and was the animator on the VES Award-winning short film AZIMUTH.
Damien Lagadeuc:
Blowing things up? That’s exactly what I love to do, in 3D, of course. I’m an FX artist who enjoys tackling technical challenges, especially when it comes to large-scale simulations.
A Sparrow´s Song – Making of – Gold at the 52nd Student Academy Awards® in Animation 2025
– Annie Award for Best Student Film – 53rd Annie Awards 2026
– Calgary International Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize Best Short Film 2025
– Siggraph Asia Computer Animation Festival – Best Student Project 2025
– Animation Dingle Awards 2026 – Best Director
– FIA’25 (International Animation Festival) – Grand Jury Prize
– FIA’25 (International Animation Festival) – Best Short Film – Student Category
– Vermont Animation Festival 2026 – Best Student Film
– Spitziale 2026 – Silberner Spitz
– 2nd Price GBAKA NATIONAL AWARDS
Nominations:
– BAFTA Student Awards Finalist – 2025
– VES Award Nominee for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project – 2026
Tobias Eckerlin
Tobias Eckerlin is a writer, director, and CGI artist. In 2018, he earned his Master of Arts in Communication Design from Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, where his creative focus evolved from photography to live-action filmmaking and ultimately to CGI and animation. In 2025, he graduated from the prestigious Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg with a diploma in Directing for Animation. He wrote and directed the multi-award-winning animated short film A Sparrow’s Song, which received the Gold Medal in the Animation category at the 52nd Student Academy Awards and was honored with the internationally renowned Annie Award in 2026.
Elias Weber
Elias Weber is a CG generalist with a strong focus on character and creature work. With great attention to detail and deep technical expertise, he strives to bring believable creations to life.
Lilli-Luisa Heckmann
Lilli-Luisa Heckmann is an animator based in Germany. Most recently, she worked at SERU Animation in Ludwigsburg. She developed her passion for animation while studying at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, where she graduated in 2024 with a diploma in Character Animation. On her multi-award-winning graduation short film A Sparrow’s Song, she was a lead animator, leading a team of over 20 animators. Before that, she studied Communication Design at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and gained early experience creating animations for German broadcasters. She also attended the Lucerne Master Academy of Animation, learning from mentors from renowned studios including DreamWorks, Pixar, and Weta FX.
Vincent Maurer
Vincent Maurer, born in 1999 in Bamberg, has been animating ever since he received his first camera as a child. After completing his high school education, he worked in post-production for films, series, and advertising in Nuremberg. From 2019 to 2025, he studied Technical Directing at the Animationinstitut of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg with a focus on lighting. His research project “Capturing Light with Robots” was presented at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 and received the Best Short Paper Award at CVMP 2024. During his studies, he already worked as a Virtual Production TD and at leading animation studios in Canada. He currently works as a Lighting Artist at Netflix Animation Vancouver.
The Fifth Moon of Anres
Adrian Cadena Oviedo – Director & Environment Artist
Mexican CGI animator and VFX artist, Adrian Cadena Oviedo, was born in 1992. He studied digital animation at SAE Institute Mexico where he created his first live action short film: ‘ZYON’. That he presented in some film festivals around Mexico, like Cut Out. In early 2025 he finished ‘SYKORAX VI’, his first Unreal Engine short film, which was selected and screened on different festivals around the world online and in person like: FICMA at Cineteca Nacional in Mexico City, Open World Animation at Roxy Theater in Pennsylvania and the Girona Film Festival among others.
Now specializing in Unreal Engine and along with 10 other talented artist, in Vancouver BC, he joins forces to direct and create ‘The Fifth Moon of Anres’ a short film done completely by humans with Unreal Engine, Motion builder, Houdini, Maya, Substance painter, DaVinci Resolve and After Effects.
Felipe Barrera Cabezas – Environment Artist
He is a 3D Environment Artist with a strong focus on lighting and real-time rendering workflows, primarily using Unreal Engine. His experience includes automotive visualization, virtual production, and cinematic environment design. With a background in concept art, he enjoys turning ideas into clear, visually engaging scenes from early stages to final render. This foundation helps him translate visual direction into detailed, cinematic environments that support narrative and emotion while staying optimized for production workflows.
He was involved in the environment workflow: 3d design, layout, lighting and cinematic rendering.
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