The BFX festival is being organised by The International VFX Hub – a collaboration between the National Centre for Computer Animation at Bournemouth University (NCCA) and the Faculty of Media and Performance at the Arts University College Bournemouth (AUCB).
Alex Hope, managing director of Double Negative, which has provided visual effects for films including The Dark Knight Rises and The Bourne Legacy this year, said: “BFX is something that I have been hoping would happen for a very long time so I’m thrilled and very excited.”
He added: “Visual effects is one of the great unsung businesses in this country – we are amazingly good at it, we’ve won Oscars for doing it, there are many people who have a very wonderful and fulfilling career in it and I wish that more schoolchildren knew that it was out there for them to come and join in.”
The festival will take place across Bournemouth and will be open to the public – with planned events including a conference, workshops, screenings, panel discussions and an awards ceremony.
There will also be a competition for visual effects students from around the country who will work in teams to produce a short visual effects or animated sequence.
They will be mentored and judged by industry experts and the winning students will receive an internship at a leading UK film and visual effects studio.
Peter Truckel, who has worked in the visual effects industry for over 30 years and is director of the VFX Hub in Bournemouth, said: “BFX will be different from other festivals, because as well as appealing to professionals and to people already in higher education, it will also focus on attracting an audience of pre-GCSE students and their families, with the aim of making them aware of visual effects and animation as a career option.
“We have the opportunity to create something that could change lives and open doors that many people don’t even know exist.”
Professor John Vinney, Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University (BU), said: “I think it is a brilliant initiative. It is a great chance for Bournemouth University to work with the AUCB on a project that is really critical for the area and will really help to put Bournemouth on the map as a centre of excellence for animation and visual effects.”
For more information about the BFX festival and competition, visit www.bfxfestival.com.