Kays Vanderest

Born in Tofino Kays Vanderest is a proud Vancouver Island Native and member of the Heiltsuk First Nations tribe. An avowed cinephile from an absurdly young age, filmmaking has been Kays' primary focus his entire life. He holds a B.A in Motion Picture Production from Capilano University where he enjoyed the finest grades in his screenwriting courses. His desire to create content led him to embracing the production and business side of filmmaking. He threw himself into internships and office assistant jobs as well as picking up any and all volunteering opportunities he could. Embracing his creative side, Kays produced and directed a handful of music videos for the now defunct underground rap group "Altered Minds" as well as taking on the job of Production Designer on a mid-budget feature length film "Wrecker" at the age of 22 years old where his work was specifically mentioned in trade magazines/websites like Variety, Deadline and Indiewire. Always seeking a challenge and seeing it as key to the future of the film industry, Kays took a job as a Production Assistant at the three-time Academy Award winning Visual Effects company Double Negative where he worked as a PA on "Star Trek Beyond" before being promoted to Visual Effects Production Coordinator on Tim Burton's "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and the upcoming blockbusters "Wonder Woman", "The Mummy" and most recently "Pacific Rim: Uprising". In addition to his full-time job in the vfx industry, Kays continues to develop music videos, short and feature films.