The Academy reveals the winners and medals of the 2021 Student Academy Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted 17 students as winners of the 48th Student Academy Awards competition. Gold, silver and bronze medals in the seven award categories will be presented by Academy Award-winning director and 1992 Academy Award winner Pete Docter, Academy Award-nominated director Asghar Farhadi, and directors Marielle Heller and Nanfu Wang in a virtual program highlighting the winners and their films on Thursday 21 October.

This year, the Student Academy Awards competition received a total of 1.404 entries from 210 national and 126 international colleges and universities. The 2021 winners join the ranks of past Student Academy Award winners such as Patricia Cardoso, Cary Fukunaga, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen and Robert Zemeckis.

The winners in the animation category came from the established CalArts, Ringling and MoPA institutes, along with the first-time SAA winner Cleveland Institute of Art.

Hosted by Amandla Stenberg, the 2021 ceremony is now available for viewing here.

Animation (national film schools)
Gold: UnforgottenSujin Kim, California Institute of the Arts

This CG animated experimental documentary conveys lifelong after-effects and painful memories of Korean women who suffered as “Comfort Women” (sex slaves) in “Comfort Stations” during the Imperial Japanese military occupation during World War II. Four deceased Korean victims provide oral testimony so that each victim's personal experience is linked to the next story, which together form a huge tragic story about the horrific sexual violence imposed on unprotected women during wartime.

Silver: Orders to bark, Alexander Tullo, Ringling College of Art & Design

In this plot-rich CGI comedy, the queen's corgi takes the throne and barks madly for power.

Bronze: Sleep with snakes, Teagan Barrone, Cleveland Institute of Art

In 1921, an 11-year-old African American boy is separated from his friend while being chased by an angry racist mob. Finding a cave, he is no longer in danger from the crowds, but from the rattlesnakes that loom in the darkness. Based on a true story.

Animation (International Film Schools)

Gold: Les Chaussures de Louis (Louis shoes), Théo Jamin, Kayu Leung and Marion Philippe, MoPA (France)

Louis, an eight-and-a-half-year-old autistic boy, arrives at his new school and is about to introduce himself.

Les Chaussures de Louis - Teaser 01 from Les Chaussures de Louis on Vimeo.

Alternative / Experimental (national and international film schools)

Gold: frozen out, Hao Zhou, University of Iowa

Documentary (national film schools)

Gold: When they are gone, Kristen Hwang, University of California, Berkeley

Silver: Rest of the eagles in Liangshan, Bohao Liu, New York University

Bronze: Not just a name, De'Onna Young-Stephens, University of Southern California

Documentary (International Film Schools)

Gold: Why didn't you stay for me?, Milou Gevers, Nederlandse Filmacademie (Netherlands)

Fiction (national film schools)

Gold: When the sun goes down, Phumi Morare, Chapman University

Silver: Close links with the country of origin, Akanksha Cruczynski, Columbia College Chicago

Bronze: No law, no heaven, Kristi Hoi, University of California, Los Angeles

Fiction (International Film Schools)

Gold: Tala'vision, Murad Abu Eisheh, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

Silver: Adisa, Simon Denda, Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (Germany)

Bronze: Bad omen, Salar Pashtoonyar, York University (Canada)

All Student Academy Award winning films can compete for the 2021 Oscars in the Animated Short, Live Action Short, or Documentary Short category. Past winners have received 65 Oscar nominations and have won or shared 14 awards.

The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for global emerging talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work.

Find out more at www.oscars.org.