The Visual Effects Society (VES) has named Academy Award-winning director and visual effects supervisor Takashi Yamazaki as the recipient of the VES Visionary Award, in recognition of his valuable contributions to visual arts and filmed entertainment. The award will be presented at the 23rd Annual VES Awards on February 11, 2025 at The Beverly Hilton hotel.
The VES Visionary Award, bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, recognizes an individual who has uniquely and consistently employed the art and science of visual effects to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work. The Society will honor Yamazaki for his consummate artistry, expansive storytelling and profound ability to use visual effects to bring his unique visions to life.
“Takashi Yamazaki is a renowned talent in Japanese cinema, who accomplished a significant feat when he became only the second director to win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and in the process reinvigorated a legendary kaiju franchise,” said VES chair Kim Davidson. “Yamazaki has been at the forefront in using visual effects to tell remarkable stories that transfix audiences and create unforgettable cinematic experiences. As a creative force who has made an indelible mark in the world of filmed entertainment, we are honored to award him with the prestigious VES Visionary Award.”
Born in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture in 1964, Yamazaki is a Japanese filmmaker and visual effects supervisor, counted as one of Japan’s leading film directors. Most recently Yamazaki wrote, directed and led the visual effects team responsible for the groundbreaking global hit Godzilla Minus One, making him the first director since Stanley Kubrick to win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Godzilla Minus One is currently the 3rd highest grossing foreign language film in U.S. box office history making over $56 million dollars. The film also won eight Japan Academy Prizes including the prizes for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Visual Effects, becoming the most-awarded film at the 47th annual awards.
Yamazaki is set to make his Hollywood debut with Grandgear for Bad Robot and Sony Pictures. In addition to writing and directing the film, he will also serve as a producer alongside J.J. Abrams and Glen Zipper.
Yamazaki credits childhood viewings of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind with influencing his pursuit of a career in special effects. After graduating from Asagaya College of Art and Design, he joined VFX house Shirogumi Inc. in 1986 working on SFX and digital compositing in films directed by Juzo Itami, such as The Last Dance (1993) and A Quiet Life (1995). Yamazaki made his debut as a film director in 2000 with Juvenile and became a leading figure in visual expression and VFX using computer graphics in Japan.
Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005), using VFX to depict the streets of Tokyo in the late 1950s, won 12 awards, including Best Picture and Best Director at the 29th Japan Academy Film Prize. His films The Eternal Zero (2013) and Stand by Me Doraemon (2014) won Best Picture and eight other awards at the 38th Japan Academy Film Prize, as well as the Best Animation Film in the same year.
Previous recipients of the VES Visionary Award include: Christopher Nolan; Ang Lee; Alfonso Cuaron; J.J. Abrams; Syd Mead; Victoria Alonso; Jonathan Nolan; and Roland Emmerich.
