Roger Deakins to Receive Visionary Award at VIEW Conference 2021

The Illusion Almanac is pleased to share this press release from VIEW Conference 2021.

VIEW Conference is delighted to announce that Sir Roger Deakins, Oscar®-Winning cinematographer of films including The Shawshank Redemption, Blade Runner 2049 and 1917, will receive this year’s coveted VIEW Visionary Award. Previous recipients of the award, presented for outstanding contribution to the visual arts, include pioneering visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren, animated feature director Nora Twomey and Pixar designer/director Ralph Eggleston.

As part of the VIEW Visionary Award celebrations, on October 20, 2021 at 12:00pm PDT, Roger Deakins will take part in an exclusive one-on-one interview with Dean DeBlois, the acclaimed director of animated features including Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon. In a lively conversation, Deakins will discuss highlights from his long and illustrious career, offering insight into the creative genius that has made him one of the world’s most sought-after and respected cinematographers.

VIEW Conference 2021, the 22^nd edition of Italy’s premiere animation, VFX and computer graphics conference, takes place from October 17 to 22, in the beautiful city of Torino, Italy, where industry professionals, students and enthusiasts are invited to enjoy an inspiring week of talks, presentations, and workshops. In addition, online access opens up this year’s event to a global audience.

“Roger Deakins is one of the true living legends of filmmaking,” says Conference Director Dr. Maria Elena Gutierrez. “Throughout his career, he has captured some of the most iconic and memorable images ever committed to the screen, from Tim Robbins exulting in the rain in The Shawshank Redemption, to Ryan Gosling exploring a dust-shrouded Las Vegas in Blade Runner 2049. Roger’s unique vision is unparalleled, and it is a privilege to honour his achievements at VIEW Conference 2021 by presenting him with this year’s VIEW Visionary Award.”

Roger Deakins, CBE, ASC, BSC

Sir Roger Alexander Deakins CBE is an English cinematographer, best known for collaborating with directors Denis Villeneuve, Sam Mendes, and the Coen brothers. Deakins is a member of the British Society of Cinematographers and the American Society of Cinematographers, and has received five BAFTA Awards for Best Cinematography. Nominated fifteen times for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, he has won that award twice for Blade Runner 2049, and 1917. His best-known films are The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, A Beautiful Mind, Skyfall, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, and 1917. The American Society of Cinematographers gave Deakins a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and in 2013 he was bestowed a CBE by the Palace for his services to film. In the 2021 New Year Honours he was knighted as a Knight Bachelor.

September 2021 sees the release of Byways, a new 160-page book containing previously unpublished black-and-white photographs spanning five decades, from 1971 to the present. This is the first time Deakins has shared a collection of his personal photographs in this way.

Hosted by Roger Deakins and his long time collaborator James Ellis Deakins, the Team Deakins Podcast is an ongoing conversation exploring the world of image making, filmmaking and the many unique roles within it, from location scouting to on set still photography and beyond. Guests include Sam Mendes (1917), Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) and Joel Coen (Fargo).

Dean DeBlois

Golden Globe winner and two-time Academy Award nominee Dean DeBlois is best known for writing, directing, and executive producing 2010’s How To Train Your Dragon and its 2014 sequel. He currently served in those same roles on How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019), the final installment of the trilogy and culmination of one of the most popular animated franchises in film history. Prior to collaborating on the original How to Train Your Dragon with Chris Sanders, the pair wrote and directed Walt Disney Animation Studios’ beloved Lilo & Stitch (2002), after first serving as co-heads of story on Mulan (1998). In addition to his animation work, Dean has written and sold various live action feature film projects to Disney and Universal Studios. He has also directed several music films and documentaries, most notably 2007’s indie critical darling Sigur Rós: Heima. Dean’s continued collaboration with Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi has lead to the singer-songwriter’s contributions to the How to To Train Your Dragon soundtracks. Dean is a graduate of Sheridan College’s animation program and was awarded an honorary degree in 2016. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, The Writers Guild, and ASIFA.

About VIEW Conference 2021

The international VIEW Conference, Italy’s premiere event for Computer Graphics, Interactive & Immersive Media, Animation, Visual Effects, Games, Real-time Rendering, Virtual Production, AI, VR, AR, and Mixed Reality, brings top professionals from those fields to the beautiful baroque city of Torino, Italy for a week of talks, presentations, and workshops. The 2021 VIEW Conference will take place from October 17 to 22 in Torino’s state-of-the-art OGR venue, and virtually.