KEY people behind some of the Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters will be at Bournemouth’s annual celebration of the visual effects, animation and gaming industries.

The BFX Festival will be opened by BBC arts editor Will Gompertz and will showcase such films as Solo – A Star Wars Story, The Jungle Book and this autumn’s Disney release Ralph Breaks the Internet.

The event, from October 3-7 at the BIC, will attract some of the world’s leading visual effects artists, with Disney sending people from the US.

It is organised by Bournemouth University, many of whose graduates work on major Hollywood films.

Festival director Sofronis Efstathiou said: “Each year we are delighted to welcome talented artists and professionals from around the world to come and share their secrets, tips and techniques on how the latest Hollywood blockbusters are made, and this year is no exception.

“At the BFX Festival, we’ll have genuine insight into how some of the best films from the last 12 months have been made – this is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how your favourite films and games are put together, and something not to be missed.”

Disney’s animators will discuss the sequel to Wreck It Ralph, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and offer early glimpses of the movie, which is not due for release until November. There will be a chance to see concept artwork on display.

Julian Foddy, whose recent work includes Transformers: The Last Knight and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, will talk about his work on Solo – A Star Wars Story, for which he was visual effects supervisor.

James Hood, rigging technical director at MPC, will look at anatomical rigging for feature films, drawing on his work on such films as The Jungle Book and The Dark Tower, and how to build full skeletal, muscle and skin to look realistic.

The BAFTA-nominated animated short Mamoon will be dissected by its creators at Blue Zoo, Tom Box and Dane Winn. Their talk will look at their latest short, including an exclusive teaser, and how storytelling and animation are blended to create such features.

Effects craftsman Ari Rubenstein will return to the festival to premiere his 15-minute short The Blues Crab, and discuss its production.

More details are to be announced, with tickets and further details at bfxfestival.com