The VFX Mentor

Albert Szostkiewicz is a VFX Supervisor with over 20 years career started out as a 3D generalist, working on computer games, TV commercials and directly with film crew as on-set supervisor. Later in his career he focused on FX and Lighting aspects of post production, working on high profile Hollywood movies in companies like Weta Digital, ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, DNEG, Rising Sun Pictures and others. His passion is to combine knowledge gained at the Academy of Fine Arts together with math, physics and programming skills to deliver the finest quality of visual effects. Albert’s filmography portfolio has over 20 credits and is known for his work on movies such as ‘DUNE‘ receiving VES award for the 'Outstanding effect simulations in a photoreal feature', ‘Spider-Man No Way Home‘ nominated for the oscars for best Visual effects,‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, ‘Man of Steel’ nominated for the VES 'Outstanding effect simulations in a photoreal feature', ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, and many more.

Alyssa Zarate is currently a VFX Art Director based in Vancouver. For nearly two decades, she has worked on films such as Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Spider-man: Far From Home, Game of Thrones, The Wolverine, Jurassic World, Prometheus, The Chronicles of Narnia to name a few; and various shows produced by HBO, Starz Entertainment, National Geographic, Amazon Prime, Disney and Netflix. She started out working in the Art Department as an on-set Production Designer/Illustrator for film & television productions around New Zealand & Australia. She is passionate about leadership, mentoring and inspiring current and future generations of artists in Visual Effects.

Louis Manjarres is a lead FX artist and FX supervisor, recognized with a VES Award in 2021 for Outstanding Effects Simulation in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project for his groundbreaking work on Foundation: Collapse of the Galactic Empire. His passion for visual effects has been a driving force throughout his career, from his early days as an FX artist at Ubisoft Montreuil. Following his time at Ubisoft, he worked on commercials before quickly advancing to major VFX studios like MPC, Dneg, and Sony Imageworks. In recent years, Louis has taken on leadership roles in the industry, contributing to a remarkable portfolio that includes 8 Marvel films and Oscar-winning features like Dune and Blade Runner 2049. Known for his ability to break down complex techniques, he has a natural talent for teaching and has been strongly encouraged to share his knowledge. Today, alongside his work on major films, he teaches a comprehensive destruction class at CG Master Academy, helping the next generation of artists hone their FX skills.