Academy Honors Global Student Filmmakers at 52nd Student Academy Awards Ceremony

Academy Honors Global Student Filmmakers at 52nd Student Academy Awards Ceremony

🏆 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 categories.

RMN News Entertainment Desk
October 7, 2025

NEW YORK, NY — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored its student winners from colleges and universities around the world on October 6 at the 52nd Student Academy Awards ceremony. The prestigious event, held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City in partnership with Rolex, announced and presented Gold, Silver, and Bronze trophies across multiple categories.

The competition this year was fierce, drawing 3,127 entries from 988 colleges and universities worldwide. Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor provided remarks during the evening. Presenters included notable figures such as Academy Actors Branch Governor Lou Diamond Phillips and filmmakers Craig Brewer, Jon M. Chu, and Alex Woo.

Winners of the 2025 Gold placements represent institutions globally:

• Alternative/Experimental: Gold was awarded to Xindi Zhang for “The Song of Drifters” from the University of Southern California.
  • Silver went to Vega Moltke-Leth of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Bronze to Mati Granica of the London College of Communication, United Kingdom.
• Animation: Tobias Eckerlin of Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Germany, took the Gold for “A Sparrow’s Song”.
  • Lucas Ansel earned Silver for “The 12 Inch Pianist” from the Rhode Island School of Design, while Bronze was shared by Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck du Plessis D’Argentré & Maud Le Bras for “The Shyness of Trees” from Gobelins, France.
• Documentary: Tatiana McCabe secured Gold for “Tides of Life” from the University of the West of England Bristol, United Kingdom.
  • Rebeka Bizubová of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia, received Silver, and Jane Deng of New York University won Bronze.
• Narrative: Gold was presented to Jan Saczek for “Dad’s Not Home” from the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School, Poland.
  • Silver went to Meyer Levinson-Blount of Tel Aviv University, Israel, and Bronze went to ZEFAN of Columbia University for “Kubrick, Like I Love You”.

Several institutions received their first-time honors at the awards, including 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.

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. Notably, 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 categories.

The 2025 winners now join the ranks of highly accomplished past recipients, such as Patricia Cardoso, Pete Docter, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen, and Robert Zemeckis. Past winners of the Student Academy Awards have gone on to receive 69 Oscar nominations and have won or shared 15 awards.