Cinesite has been awarded visual effects work for Columbia Pictures/20th Century Fox’s forthcoming film The Monuments Men.

George Clooney, fresh from Oscar-winning success with film Argo, is directing, producing and starring in the film, which recently began shooting in Germany.

The story centres on a group of art experts selected by the US government to chase down art stolen from Europe during World War II before it is destroyed and lost forever.  The film is based on the non-fiction book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by  Robert M. Edsel.

VFX Supervisor for the production is Angus Bickerton, who Cinesite has worked with several times previously (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and the RTS award-winning Band of Brothers TV series).  Supervising for Cinesite is Jon Neill, who completed work in 2012 on Skyfall.

The Monuments Men will hit cinemas on 18th December 2013 in the USA and 1st January 2014 in the UK.