The PIDS Enghien is an event dedicated to digital creation in all its forms: from visual effects to virtual reality, through animation and 3D, the PIDS crosses the creative, technical, economic and creative challenges of a sector in perpetual evolution.
The organizers created the Digital Creation GENIE Awards in 2015, which aim to honor the talents of French digital creation.
Michael Pangrazio honored
at the GENIE Awards 2025
On the occasion of PIDS ENGHIEN (January 22-25, 2025), the Arts Centre and the town of Enghien-les-Bains are delighted to announce that Artistic Director Michael Pangrazioregular collaborator with Steven Spielberg (4 films) and Peter Jackson (3 films), will receive a Genie d’Honneur on Wednesday January 22, 2025 at the next GENIE Awards ceremony, and will give an exceptional masterclass on Friday January 24, 2025 at the Centre des arts d’Enghien-les-Bains.
GENIE d’Honneur 2025
The GENIE Visionary Award rewards a personality of the digital creation industry for significant and lasting contributions to the art and science by way of vision, artistry, invention and innovation.
Michael Pangrazio is one of the leading art directors in American cinema, best known for his matte painting work on Hollywood classics such as “Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “King Kong”.
Michael Pangrazio began his career as a set designer for a television station. In 1978, he met Joe Johnston of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), who helped him land a job at the studio. With no previous experience, Pangrazio learned the art of matte painting under the guidance of renowned conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie over the next three years.
Pangrazio’s contributions to several iconic films include painting the backdrops for most of the stop-motion shots in the Imperial Walker/Hoth sequence in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980). His work on the final shot of the government warehouse in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), which involved combining glass painting with live images, is celebrated as one of the greatest matte-painting achievements in film history. He also created the matte-paintings for Pankot’s palace, the cliff and the village in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), as well as numerous scenes in “The Secret of the Pyramid” (1985).
In 1988, after leaving ILM, Pangrazio co-founded Matte World Digital with Craig Barron, where he continued his collaboration with ILM. In 1994, he moved to Oregon to concentrate on a career in children’s book illustration, contributing to numerous publications.
In 2005, Pangrazio returned to the film industry as Art Director at Weta Digital in New Zealand, where he oversaw the visual effects for several major productions, including Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” (2005), “Lovely Bones” (2009) and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012).
Roxane Fechner,
GENIE d’Honneur 2025
On the occasion of PIDS ENGHIEN (January 22-25, 2025), the Arts Centre and the town of Enghien-les-Bains are pleased to announce that Roxane Fechner, visual effects supervisor and producer, will receive a Genie d’Honneur on Wednesday January 22, 2025 at the next GENIE Awards ceremony.
GENIE d’Honneur 2025
The GENIE d’Honneur is awarded to an individual whose creativity and vision have contributed to the development of the film and moving image industry.
Trained in art history and interior design at the École Boulle and Emerson College, Roxane began her career in set decoration in 1994, before specializing in visual effects in the early 2000s.
With over 45 films to her credit, she has worked as a visual effects supervisor and producer, collaborating on numerous French and international projects with leading studios in Europe, the United States, Canada and China. She has worked with filmmakers such as Pierre Morel (“Taken”; “From Paris with Love”), Gérard Krawczyk (“Taxi 4”), Laurent Tirard (“Asterix and Obelix: At Her Majesty’s Service”; “The Speech”), Louis Leterrier and Thomas Vinterberg. She is currently working on the next films by Alice Winocour and Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz (Golden Lion at Venice 2016).
After more than 10 years with Groupe Eclair, Roxane helped launch the Mikros Image VFX studio in Montreal in 2011, before returning to France as a freelancer.
A member of the Board of Directors of the Visual Effects Society and FranceVFX, Roxane Fechner has contributed to the recognition of the role of visual effects in French cinema, as well as to greater visibility of gender equality within the industry.
For his creativity and commitment to a more egalitarian and inclusive industry, PIDS Enghien is pleased and proud to award him an honorary GENIE.
Honorary GENIE of previous editions :
2015: Neil Corbould
2016: Dennis Muren, Rodolphe Chabrier, Jacques Bled
2017: Joe Letteri, Pierre Buffin
2018: Phil Tippett, Christian Guillon
2019: John Knoll, Eve Ramboz
2020: Chris Edwards, Olivier Emery
2022: Rob Legato, Jerzy Kular et Xavier Nicolas
2023: Doug Chiang, Alain Carsoux
2024: Guillaume Rocheron