Belfast’s RENDR festival rolls out red carpet for Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy-winners

With awards season in full flow, the RENDR festival will roll out the red carpet at Portview Trade Centre in east Belfast later this week for an all-star line-up of Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy-winners who will unite for the city’s second annual creativity and technology showcase.

A unique nocturnal event, RENDR, which is supported by Northern Ireland Screen, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Studio Ulster, Ulster University, Ulster Screen Academy and Belfast City Council, takes place across two evenings on Thursday 29^th February and Friday 1^st March.

Over 30 speakers will deliver keynote talks across the two nights alongside live and interactive demonstrations of new technology, showcases of digital art and fun gaming experiences.

RENDR director Michael Weir said: “We’re very proud of the legacy created by last year’s inaugural festival and are privileged to welcome such brilliant minds to Belfast for our second edition of RENDR. The programme curated for this year’s event is truly world-class, which we believe echoes the remarkable levels of innovation taking place here and really underscores our creative spirit.”

Speakers include:

Pav Grochola – From Sony Pictures Imageworks an FX and Look of Picture Supervisor, whose latest feature, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, was nominated for Animated Film in the recent EE BAFTA Film Awards. The box office hit is shortlisted for Animated Feature Film in the upcoming 96^th Academy Awards, which will be held on Sunday 10^th March.

Dylan Sisson – With over 25 years of expertise in animation and visual effects, Dylan has contributed significantly to the evolution and promotion of RenderMan, Pixar’s proprietary 3D rendering software that is the basis for the studio’s blockbuster productions, including The Incredibles, Up, Brave, Inside Out, Soul, and many more.

Suzy Fagan Parr – From Aardman, the world-famous Bristol-based animation studio with seven Oscar nods and four wins, Suzy Fagan Parr  served as a director and lead character animator on the recent Netflix exclusive Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.

Jany Temime – Costume designer who is best known for her work on the Harry Potter film franchise, also joins the line-up for RENDR. In 2023, as part of the 75^th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, her work on HBO’s House of the Dragon was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes.

Hal Hickel – From Industrial Light & Magic, who’s work includes Toy Story, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Iron Man, and more. Currently, he is Animation Supervisor on The Mandalorian series for Disney+, which, in 2021, won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie. His work on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest secured him both Oscar and BAFTA awards for visual effects.

Ross White – Academy Award and BAFTA-winning filmmaker who co-wrote and co-directed the acclaimed short film An Irish Goodbye, will share insights into making an Oscar-winning short.

For the full list of speakers and to book tickets, visit RENDRfestival.com and stay up to date with the latest developments and speaker announcements on the festival’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.