10 Recipients of the Animation Educators Forum 2018-19 Scholarships

ASIFA-Hollywood and the Animation Educators Forum  supported ten (10) animation students in their journey towards membership in the global animation community.

This year’s scholarships total $40,000 and will be distributed to both graduate and undergraduate, and include narrative and documentary animation projects, and formal academic research. The AEF scholarships are merit-based and designed to support college students in continuing their education in the field of animation. Each individual student’s written proposals, letters of recommendation from faculty, and demo reel/still art were taken into consideration as part of the selection process.

I'm really proud of this year's winners. They represent a wide range of diversity. Two of our winners are Russian nationals studying abroad in Canada and Denmark; one of our US graduate student winners is Indonesian and plans to return to his home country to jumpstart the industry there; and the formal academic research award is going to a PhD candidate who is studying the relationship of sound and visuals in TV animation. The films are set in different cultures including China, Japan, and Germany, and discuss topics such as gender dynamics, child abuse, healing from grief and family relationships between different generations. Dori Littell-Herrick, AEF Committee

6 women out of 10 are included in this year’s awardees; their films  include stop motion, traditional and digital artists; documentary and short-film makers; and academic researchers and authors. The 2018-2019 AEF Scholarship recipients are:

Entering the 2nd year of a bachelor degree

• Darya Borisenko, Sheridan College, Ontario, Canada
• Catharine Ren, California College of the Arts, California, US

 Entering the 3rd year of a bachelor degree

• Sofya Baychuk, The Animation Workshop, Viborg, Denmark
• Clarisse Chua, California College of the Arts, California, US

 Entering the 4th year of a bachelor degree

• Rok Won Hwang, Ringling College of Art and Design, Florida, US
• Trillina Mai, California State University Long Beach, California, US

Graduate students

• Ryan Andriandhy, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US
• John Summerson, Royal College of Art, London, UK
• Benjamin Lin, California State University Long Beach, California, US

Formal Academic Scholarship

• Patrick Sullivan, University of Rochester, New York, US

All scholarship awardees will also receive a one-year Associate Membership to ASIFA-Hollywood.

 ASIFA-Hollywood is dedicated to promoting the Art of Animation and celebrating the people who create it. Today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA, supports a range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation Aid Foundation, Animation Educators Forum, animated film preservation, special events, scholarships and screenings.