The Cinesite Group has promoted two key internal leaders, with Visual Effects Supervisors Christian Irles and Andy Walker moving from Vancouver’s Image Engine into new leadership positions within the wider Cinesite Group.
“These appointments reflect our commitment to developing our people and ensuring that experience and expertise remain within the Cinesite family,” said Shawn Walsh, Cinesite COO VFX. “By supporting cross-studio opportunities, we’re able to offer our employees new challenges while strengthening our global leadership network.”
VFX Supervisor Christian Irles has transferred from Image Engine to Cinesite’s London headquarters. During his tenure at Image Engine from 2018 to 2025, Irles supervised the creation of complex visual effects for major projects, including The Gorge, Foundation Season 2, The School for Good and Evil, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Mulan. Before that, he served as a VFX Supervisor at Cinesite Montreal, contributing to Assassin’s Creed and Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns.
Commenting on the move, Irles said, “It’s a fantastic feeling to be back at Cinesite, a company I hold in high regard. My time at Image Engine was an amazing experience, and I’m thrilled to be returning to London to work with this exceptional team. I’m ready to dive into new challenges and create some truly memorable visual effects.”
Andy Walker joins Cinesite Montreal as a Visual Effects Supervisor, working out of New York. Previously at Image Engine, he oversaw a range of projects, including The Old Guard 2, Skeleton Crew, Lift, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hawkeye, and was nominated as the Visual Effects Supervisor for the 2020 nomination for The Lost in Space episode “Ninety-Seven”.
His on-set supervision experience covers major features and series such as Gabby’s Dollhouse, Lift, The Unforgivable, and Mowgli, in addition to large-scale commercial campaigns for clients like Pepsi, Geico, and HP. His career highlights include a 2007 VES Award for Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program for a Geico commercial.
Speaking about the move, he said, “My time at Image Engine was invaluable, and I’m now ready to leverage my decades of in -house & on-set experience to take on new, ambitious projects. This move is an exciting opportunity to contribute to Cinesite’s rapidly growing global network and collaborate with the phenomenal team in Montreal.”
Earlier in his career at Framestore, Walker helped establish their New York City office, progressing from technical director to Head of CG. He honed his expertise in look development, lighting, effects simulations, and rigging, contributing to high-profile projects like Gravity, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2, Alita: Battle Angel plus Harry Potter The Chamber of Secrets & the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Jon Creamer
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