Maine native wins Oscar for visual effects

March 12, 2023

Maine native wins Oscar for visual effects

Eric Saindon, who is currently living in New Zealand, was a member of a four-man team that won an Oscar in the visual effects category for their work on “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Saindon, 53, is a senior effects supervisor. The film is directed and produced by James Cameron.

Sunday’s nomination was the third for Saindon, who grew up in Gorham and was also nominated for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” in 2014 and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” in 2013. Sunday’s Oscar win was his first.

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"We have been fortunate to have made two movies in Maine — The Way We Get By and Beneath The Harvest Sky.” Maine is a very special state in that there are so many options for locations. Given its size, you can travel to northern Maine, southern Maine, all along the coast, and tell a number of different stories in totally unique worlds with each film having very distinctive looks. The abundance of locations combined with the incredible generosity of the people and communities, make filmmaking in Maine a pure joy. We would not be filmmakers today without the support from the people of Maine and we will be forever grateful."

- Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet, The Way We Get By and Beneath the Harvest Sky

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