The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 52nd Student Academy Awards ceremony on Monday, October 6, 2025. Gold, Silver and Bronze placements were announced and trophies presented during a ceremony held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.
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. 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 join the ranks of such past Student Academy Award winners as Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis, Patricia Riggen, Pete Docter, and Patricia Cardoso. Last year, five 2024 Student Academy Award-winning films made the Oscar shortlists. Past winners have gone on to receive 69 Oscar nominations in total, and have won or shared 15 awards.
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 2025 ceremony is available to view on the Oscars YouTube page.
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
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.
