Update: October 12, 2017

CONGRATULATIONS: Ringling graduates took home the Gold tonight!

Ringling graduates Beth David and Esteban Bravo won the Gold in Animation at the 44th Student Academy Awards! The two have already received international acclaim for their award-winning and poignant four-minute animation, In A Heartbeat. The piece was created as a senior thesis film as a part of the Computer Animation program at Ringling College.

The message the grads had for the audience tonight: Love is love.

The award ceremony took place tonight at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Original post: September 13, 2017

Congratulations to Beth David and Esteban Bravo, who won a 2017 Student Academy Award for their animated short, In A Heartbeat!

This is the 13th Student Academy Award won by a graduate/student of the Ringling College Computer Animation program. Winners will find out which award they won at the award ceremony on October 12. All winners are eligible to compete for a 2017 Oscar in the Animated Short Film category.

The four-minute animation was a senior thesis film released on July 31, 2017 to worldwide acclaim, receiving over 29 million views on YouTube, coverage by top-tier outlets such as the New York Times and CNN, and shout-outs from internationally renowned celebrities such as Ellen Degeneres and Ashton Kutcher for its poignant, timely, and compassionate story about a young middle-schooler who follows his heart to his crush, another boy in his class. The piece was praised for its message, one which resonates both within the LGBT community and universally: love is love.

Also nominated for a 2017 Student Academy Award was Extinguished, by Ringling College Computer Animation students Ashley Anderson and Jacob Mann. 

Congratulations to Beth, Esteban, Ashley, and Jacob—and to the entire Computer Animation faculty! And good luck to Beth and Esteban at the Oscars!

Animation World Network, 4 Animated Films Among 17 Winners of 44th Student Academy Awards

Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Ringling grads’ ‘In a Heartbeat’ wins Student Academy Award