‘Dune’ Production Designer Patrice Vermette to Be Honored With Variety’s Creative Impact Award at SCAD Savannah Film Festival

Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermette will be honored with Variety’s Creative Impact in Production Design Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.

Vermette is Denis Villeneuve’s go-to production designer. The pair have worked together on “Sicario,” “Arrival” and all three “Dune” movies.

Speaking about Vermette, Villeneuve said, “Patrice preps a lot. He is a workaholic and it’s all about details and massive visual research — whether you dig in the past or project into the future, it requires research. I knew he would add the right sensibility in the architecture, and in the way we approach the light and texture of the film. Patrice put his imprint on every set, every detail, even the way the sand is seen. Some of these sets were so gigantic, there was no stage to hold them, so we had to build them outside. Patrice has an amazing cultural background and we both come from the world of documentaries. He’s a maniac and I love him for that. I had to sell Patrice to the studio because he had never done a movie of this size, and I thank the movie gods that we got him.”

Nominated for four Oscars, Vermette won for his work on “Dune: Part One” in 2022.

Christina Routhier, senior executive director of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival said, “”SCAD is thrilled to recognize Patrice Vermette with the Variety Creative Impact Award.” She continued, “Patrice is a true visionary whose architectural brilliance and breathtaking scope have redefined modern world-building in cinema. For our SCAD students, learning firsthand from an Oscar-winning icon whose work creates living, breathing environments will be an unforgettable experience.

Vermette will receive the award during the SCAD Savannah Film Festival which will run from Oct. 24 through Oct. 31.

Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is the largest university-run film festival in the world, and one of the largest of any kind in the Southeast, and runs from Oct. 24–31, 2026. Each year, more than 74,000 people attend the eight-day festival, which has become a distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards, hosting exclusive screenings, panel discussions, and workshops at SCAD’s historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces.

Across Savannah and Atlanta, SCAD production design students prepare for careers in film, television, live theater, and themed entertainment. Students and alumni have access to professional soundstages, Broadway-style theaters, LED volume technology, fabrication facilities, and SCAD’s 11-acre Hollywood-style backlot with more than 50 facades and practical interiors. Mentored by acclaimed working designers and creative leaders, alumni have gone on to careers with 20th Century Studios, HBO, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney Imagineering, and other leading entertainment companies.