Dubliner Richard Baneham adds to Ireland's Oscars tally with Best Visual Effects win

IRISH ANIMATOR RICHARD Baneham has won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for his work on Avatar: Fire and Ash. 

Baneham, who hails from Tallaght in Dublin, was the visual effects supervisor for the film, which is the third instalment in director James Cameron’s sci-fi fantasy film series. 

He already has two Academy Awards under his belt for his work on the original Avatar film in 2009 and its 2022 sequel Avatar: The Way of Water. 

His third win is shared with collaborators Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett.

“First and foremost, thank you to our families,” Baneham said in his acceptance, thanking the partners of the film’s crew. “There’s 2,200 artists. This is a massive, massive collaboration on the VFX side.

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“We also overlap with everybody on the movie, so to all our families, this is everything. Truly, truly everything.”

He continued: “Jim Cameron, go raibh míle maith agat. He literally informs every frame of the movie, and I think has a big part in the effects.”

Taoiseach Micheál Martin congratulated Baneham on his “well-deserved win” on X, while Culture Minister Patrick O’Donovan deemed his third Oscar win ”a testament to his extraordinary expertise and his leadership in one of the most technically advanced areas of global filmmaking.

“His work on Avatar: Fire and Ash demonstrates the world‑class contribution Irish artists are making to major international productions,” he said. 

The win makes him and Jessie Buckley, who won for Best Actress, the only Irish nominees to collect an award at this year’s ceremony.

Retirement Plan, a 7-minute film created by Irish filmmaker John Kelly, was nominated for Best Animated Short.

But the 7-minute film, which tells the story of a middle-aged man who dreams about all the things he’ll do when he retires, lost out to stop-motion animation The Girl Who Cried Pearls. 

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O’Donovan said the nomination was a “significant recognition” of Kelly’s creativity and skill. “reland’s animation sector continues to shine internationally, and this nomination reinforces its growing global reputation.”

Irish film production company Element Pictures’ co-CEOs and founders Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe were also nominated in four categories for their film Bugonia, while comedy-drama Blue Moon – which was produced in association with the Dublin-based Wild Atlantic Pictures – was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

“The nomination for Blue Moon is a tremendous achievement for Wild Atlantic Pictures and for the Irish screen industry,” O’Donovan said.

“Made almost entirely in Ireland and supported by Section 481, the film showcases the strength of our production ecosystem and the calibre of Irish creative and technical talent.”

He added: “Element Pictures’ nomination for Bugonia reflects the company’s long‑standing reputation for excellence.

“Their work continues to elevate Ireland’s profile in global cinema, and this recognition underscores the strength and consistency of their creative output.”

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