‘A Sparrow’s Song’ Wins Animation Gold at Student Academy Awards

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.

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.

The 2025 ceremony is available to view here.

The animation medalists are:

Gold Medal

A Sparrow’s Song
Tobias Eckerlin | Animationinstitut – Film Academy Baden-Württemberg | Germany

Inspired by a true story, a widowed air raid warden in the midst of World War II struggles to overcome grief and rediscover joy in her life — until she finds a dying sparrow she hopes to save.

 

Silver Medal

The 12 Inch Pianist
Lucas Ansel | Rhode Island School of Design | U.S.A.

A bar joke goes awry, unraveling into a surreal tale that explores the acceptance of self, others and queer identity.

 

Bronze Medal

The Shyness of Trees
Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck du Plessis D’Argentré & Maud Le Bras | Gobelins | France

Hélène, 40 years old, comes to visit her aging mother in the French countryside. But her mother isn’t being her usual self. She seems to have formed a strange bond with the plants, insects, and the old oak tree at the end of her garden…