The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced on Monday the 15 finalists for the 2026 BAFTA Student Awards, chosen by BAFTA members from more than 600 submissions from universities worldwide across the film, games, and immersive categories.
This year’s selections spans seven countries and features first-time representation from four schools — the University of Edinburgh, Beijing Film Academy, Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya and Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion — and is predominantly female, with women accounting for 21 of the 31 listed students.
The BAFTA Student Awards, an integral part of BAFTA North America’s year-round Learning, Inclusion and Talent programs, are an international celebration of the next generation of creative talent in film, games and immersive storytelling, inspiring the future of cinema, television and interactive media.
This year’s winners, who will be selected by jurors including Joel Kim Booster, Heather Callow, Laura Karpman, Smriti Mundhra and Nico Santos, will be revealed at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles — at the Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists at SAG-AFTRA Foundation — on Friday, July 17. Award-winning broadcaster and BAFTA Breakthrough honoree Elle Osili Wood will host, and the event will be livestreamed on the elfyou Twitch channel.
BAFTA will fly the finalists to Los Angeles ahead of the Student Awards so that they can participate in a curated Experience Week from Monday, July 13 through Thursday, July 16, during which they will visit film and game studios and participate in workshops with industry professionals and networking events. The week will also feature the inaugural BAFTA Games Summit held at e.l.f.’s LA office on Wednesday, July 15, and livestreamed on the elfyou Twitch channel, during which the finalists and viewers at home will have the chance to learn about career pathways into games and gain advice from emerging developers. (e.l.f. also will provide a $15,000 grant to support an emerging female or non-binary developer.)
Courtney LaBarge Bell, executive director of BAFTA North America, said, “The BAFTA Student Awards are a launchpad for the next generation of creative talent, bringing students from around the world to Los Angeles for unparalleled access to industry leaders, peers, and career-building opportunities. We’re delighted that, as headline partner, e.l.f. is both supporting female and non-binary game developers through a dedicated grant and helping expand Experience Week with the inaugural BAFTA Games Summit.”
“At e.l.f., we believe talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn’t,” said Patrick O’Keefe, Chief Integrated Marketing Officer, e.l.f. Brands. “That’s why we’re partnering with BAFTA to honor and celebrate the future of film, games and immersive storytelling. What will start as a celebration, will evolve into building a pathway through accessibility, connectivity and exposure. When we invest in the next generation, especially women in film and gaming who have been historically underrepresented, we make the entire industry better. That’s the work, and we’re all in.”
Below are the finalist projects (listed alphabetically in each category by film title with director names and school).
Animation presented by Crunchyroll
Gauze
Noran Fikri Alezabi, Nicholas Arujah, Xinyue Ma, Yulin Yue, Xiaonan Zhou
Gobelins, France
Susurros
Marie Lombard, Lisa Francillon, Alice Parmentier, Alexandra Pewinski, Emma Pluchard, Florian Reignier
Supinfocom Rubika, France
The day I licked a pebble
Goli Atefi, Chloé Bernuchon, Flavie Eliézer, Nathan Jauze, Maud Kolasa, Marie Pijollet
École MoPA, France
Documentary
66 Days
Joude Bazzoun
University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Strangers on Our Land
Zane Karram, Kelsey Oliver
University of California, Berkeley, United States
Talk Straight, Duda
Eduardo Maia
University of Southern California, United States
Live Action
Children of yesterday
Clara Diet Cordy
Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion, Belgium
Rage
Fran Moreno Blanco, Santi Pujol Amat
Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya, Spain
Whispers of the Waves
Patricia Xu
Beijing Film Academy, China
Games
Candellum
Eva Martinello, Mattéo Gomez
Isart Digital, France
Kiloton
Jack Morehart
New York University, United States
The Wind and the Wisp
Sammy Chuang
University of Southern California, United States
Immersive
Lichtung
Aria Wolf
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Room
Leyi Zhou
University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
Sonderambla
Tomis Fras
University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
