STUDENT ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY HELD IN NEW YORK CITY
WITH THE SUPPORT OF LONGTIME ACADEMY PARTNER ROLEX
ALL WINNING FILMS NOW ELIGIBLE FOR 98TH OSCARS®
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tonight honored its student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 52nd Student Academy Awards® ceremony. Gold, Silver and Bronze placements were announced and trophies presented during a ceremony held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City, in partnership with Rolex. This year, the Student Academy Awards competition received 3,127 entries from 988 colleges and universities worldwide. With remarks by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor, the night’s category presenters included Academy Actors Branch Governor Lou Diamond Phillips and filmmakers Craig Brewer, Jon M. Chu and Alex Woo.
(The ANIMATION Segment starts around 25:20 – Tobias receiving the Gold Student Academy Award happens around 37:10)
The 2025 Student Academy Award placements are:
Alternative/Experimental
Gold: Xindi Zhang, “The Song of Drifters,” University of Southern California
Silver: Vega Moltke-Leth, “Without Perfection,” University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Bronze: Mati Granica, “flower_gan,” London College of Communication, United Kingdom
Animation
Gold: Tobias Eckerlin, “A Sparrow’s Song,” Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Silver: Lucas Ansel, “The 12 Inch Pianist,” Rhode Island School of Design
Bronze: Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck du Plessis D’Argentré & Maud Le Bras, “The Shyness of Trees,” Gobelins, France
CREDITS CREW:
Regie, Producer: Tobias Eckerlin
Lead Technical Director: Vincent Maurer
Lead Character Artist: Elias Weber
Lead Animation: Lilli-Luisa Heckmann, Marius Magracia
Groom & Feather Lead Animation: Rebecca Liebelt
Film Music: Dominik Girod
Sounddesign: Marc Uhlherr
Production Company Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
Documentary
Gold: Tatiana McCabe, “Tides of Life,” University of the West of England Bristol, United Kingdom
Silver: Rebeka Bizubová, “Confession,” Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia
Bronze: Jane Deng, “I Remember,” New York University
Narrative
Gold: Jan Saczek, “Dad’s Not Home,” Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School, Poland
Silver: Meyer Levinson-Blount, “Butcher’s Stain,” Tel Aviv University, Israel
Bronze: ZEFAN, “Kubrick, Like I Love You,” Columbia University
First-time honors go to the University of Copenhagen, Gobelins, Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School, Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, London College of Communication and University of the West of England Bristol.
All Student Academy Award-winning films are eligible to compete for the 98th Oscars® in the Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film or Documentary Short Film category. The 2025 winners join the ranks of such past Student Academy Award® winners as Patricia Cardoso, Pete Docter, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen and Robert Zemeckis. Past winners have gone on to receive 69 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared 15 awards.
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work.
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ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s premier film organization and is home to a global membership of more than 11,000 of the most accomplished film industry artists and leaders. The Academy connects global audiences – its members, the film industry, and film fans – through their shared passion for making and watching films. The Academy does this by recognizing and celebrating the arts and sciences of moviemaking through renowned awards for cinematic achievement, including the Oscars®, the Governors Awards, and the Scientific and Technical Awards. The Academy’s affiliated charitable organization, the Academy Foundation, serves a public benefit through its robust educational, preservation and cultural activities. This includes the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the world’s largest global film museum, the Academy Collection, the largest film-related collection in the world, and talent development programs for emerging artists. Year-round, the Academy creates opportunities for all communities to engage with the film world.
Student Academy Award: Gold: Tobias Eckerlin, “A Sparrow’s Song,” Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Germany