Union VFX Work on The Banshees of Inisherin VFX Receives Award Recognition

Union VFX work on Martin McDonagh’s latest film, The Banshees of Inisherin, has received award recognition. The film was produced by Blueprint Pictures for Searchlight and Film 4 and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning four BAFTAs, including Outstanding British Film and Original Screenplay. The film also received three Golden Globes for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.

The Banshees of Inisherin is a beautiful balance of both tragedy and comedy set in 1920s Ireland. The film follows two men who’ve been friends for years and are going through a crisis that results in missing fingers. Union VFX team had their work cut out with the missing finger VFX. They created CG stumps of Brendan Gleeson’s fingers alongside the intricate movement and animation required to make it look realistic. Other visual effects included CG fire, an impressive lightning storm, a CG church bell, and the beautiful period matte painting that establishes the remote landscape in the film’s opening scene.

As the sole VFX vendor on this feature, Union collaborated closely with McDonagh with Simon Hughes as their VFX Supervisor. Union came on board very early in the process and were on set for the shoot in Ireland in the middle of the pandemic.

Hughes explained, ‘the biggest challenge was creating CG stumps of Brendan Gleeson’s fingers alongside the intricate movement and animation required. We had to make a CG version of the hand and work on the many complex hand movements involved to make it look realistic”.

Director, Martin McDonagh commented: “I’ve worked with Union on two films now, Three Billboards and The Banshees of Inisherin, and have always found them to be brilliantly artistic collaborators, and a lot of fun!”

Union VFX work on The Banshees of Inisherin demonstrates their technical expertise and artistic collaboration with renowned directors and production companies. Their impressive VFX portfolio includes exceptional work on projects like For All Mankind, The Irregulars, Operation Mincemeat, Wheel of Time, Moon Knight, Pennyworth, and many more.”