^{Credit: Cows (ESMA)}

The Toronto International Film Festival welcomed this year's Student Academy Award winners, who received gold, silver, and bronze prizes. Actress Gemma Chan presented the animation category, with Cows taking the gold. From the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the short centers on a cow named Moo Moo, who longs for her boring farm life after venturing to a high-tech yet soulless facility. While produced with computers, Cows has an almost Claymation aesthetic, calling the works of Aardman to mind. Nicolás Acevedo Ferraté, Valentin Brachet, Maxence Corriette, Tanguy Delepine, Eireen Failly, Jonathan Lally, Elio Molinaro, Yulia Nikitina, and Alexandre Vespuce directed the film. Per Academy rules, though, only three directors were awarded: Lally, Molinaro, and Ferraté, all of whom were in attendance. 

^{Credit: The Panic Inside (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)}

Matthias Strasser accepted the silver award for The Panic Inside, which he produced at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The short comes from a personal place, as Strasser sees a lot of himself in protagonist Jacob, a chronic people-pleaser. Jacob's anxiety is hauntingly (and somewhat humorously) conveyed through a blend of 2D and 3D that echoes the likes of Into the Spider-Verse. Finally, bronze went to Noran Fikri Alezabi, Xinyue Ma, and Yulin Yue for Gauze. This timely short from Gobelins Imagery School in France follows a young Palestinian swimmer named Zain who attempts to provide for his little brother against a seemingly hopeless backdrop. As Alezabi mentioned in her speech, Zain is named after a real boy who tragically lost his life in Gaza. 

^{Credit: Gauze (Gobelins)}

All three winners have qualified for Best Animated Short consideration at the 99th Academy Awards. Having won gold, one might assume that Cows is in the best position to get a nomination. Of course, last year, Tobias Eckerlin’s A Sparrow’s Song won gold at the Student Academy Awards. When that year's shortlist was announced, A Sparrow's Song was absent, while the bronze winner, The Shyness of Trees, made the cut. Like Gauze, The Shyness of Trees was also from Gobelins, although it didn't go on to receive the Oscar nomination. The last Student Academy Award winner to be nominated for Best Animated Short was Lachlan Pendragon's An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It. 

You can watch this year's Student Academy Awards ceremony below: 

Also check out Cartoon Contender's interview with the directors of Cows here, as well as our interview with Matthias Strasser here. 

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!