The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed the the winners of the 53rd Student Academy Awards, the annual international student film competition. At the ceremony held at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the gold award for animation went to Cows.
No, don't worry. It's nothing to do with the terrible viral Chinese animation Niu Lai. This bovine-themed animation is a graduation short film created by students from the French cinema school ESMA, or École Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques (don't miss our pick of the best laptops for animation and the best animation software if you're inspired).
Cows follows Moo Moo, a cow who grows tired of her ordinary life on a traditional farm. When a high-tech, modern farm opens across the road, she escapes in search of a better life, only to discover that reality does not match her expectations. The story explores freedom, the illusion of greener pastures and the clash between dreams and reality.
Despite being computer-animated in 3D, Jonathan Lally, Elio Molinaro and Nicolás Acevedo Ferraté used a distinct claymation stop motion visual style reminiscent of the work of Aardman (is this something like what we'll see in Disney's Clay).
The Silver award went to the The Panic Inside by Matthias Strasser (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Germany), while Bronze went to Gauze by Noran Fikri Alezabi, Xinyue Ma and Yulin Yue at Gobelins in France.
Gauze (below) tells the story of fourteen-year-old Zain, a Palestinian swimming champion facing war and man-made famine, who becomes the sole caregiver to his little brother. When aid drops into the sea, Zain is forced to swim, not for passion, but survival.
The Student Academy Awards competition received 2,972 entries from 894 colleges and universities this year. All of the winning animations will be eligible to compete for the Animated Short Film award at the 99th Oscars next year.
