Oscar winner Richie Baneham is receiving praise from all around the world - but his alma mater Ballyfermot College of Further Education are especially proud.
Last night, the visual effects supervisor scooped the award for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars. He accepted the trophy with a cupla focal by saying "go raibh maith agat".
Richie studied Animation in Ballyfermot College of Further Education from 1990 until 1994. A spokeswoman for the college said: “We are super proud of animation graduate Richie Baneham for winning yet another Academy Award, for his role as animation supervisor on Avatar: The Way of Water. The Tallaght-born native previously won an Oscar in 2010 for Best Visual Effects on the first Avatar film– the highest grossing movie of all time.”
Read more: Richie Baneham an 'inspiration' to students at Ballyfermot's Oscar factory
Richie's first big break saw him work as an animator on The Iron Giant before establishing himself as a major player in Hollywood as animation supervisor for the second and third Lord of the Rings movies. Richie is one of 12 Ballyfermot College animation graduates living the dream in LA as part of a tight close-knit Irish diaspora.
The college principal, Cecilia Munro, recently told Dublin Live that Richie is a keen supporter of the college and has visited the college on a number of occasions during his return visits. He has met with current animation students offering advice, support and insights.
She said: “Richie came with an abundance of creativity to the college and the college just, I suppose, showed him the rudiments and allowed him to be creative.” Richie’s father Michael also came to the college recently with his son’s new BAFTA award and proudly spoke about his son’s achievements.
The Ballyfermot College animation department has been punching above its weight for over 30 years, the spokeswoman said. In 2021 the college was ranked 18 in the world in a global ranking of top international animation schools, by Animation Careers Magazine.
The college now boasts ten Oscar nominations among its former students. Tomm Moore and Paul Young’s Wolfwalkers was nominated for an Oscar in 2021 and Nora Twomey was nominated for her directorial debut The Breadwinner in 2018.
Another graduate, Jill Beecher, was part of three teams nominated for Best Production Design, having worked on Babylon, Elvis and Avatar: The Way of Water. Unfortunately for us, the German film All Quiet on the Western Front scooped the award in the end.
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