Bafta has announced the 15 finalists for the 2026 BAFTA Student Awards covering film, games, and immersive categories, with women accounting for 21 out of the 32 listed students.
Finalists span seven countries and the University of Edinburgh is one of the first-time school contenders alongside Beijing Film Academy, Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya, and Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion.
Bafta views the awards as a key plank in its year-round programmers and will fly the finalists to Los Angeles to participate in Experience Week (July 13-16), when they will visits film and game studios, and participate in workshops and networking events.
Winners will be announced on July 17 at the 2026 Bafta Student Awards held at the Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists at SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
The week will also feature the inaugural Bafta Games Summit at the offices of partner and cosmetics brand e.l.f. on July 15 when they will learn about games career pathways, hear from emerging developers, and listen to panels.
Bafta representatives said on Monday that e.l.f. will provide a $15,000 grant to support an emerging female or non-binary developer in pursuing their ambitions. Alumni of Bafta programmes, BAFTA members, and peer organisations will be invited to apply and present their project for consideration.
Bafta North America executive director Courtney LaBarge Bell 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.”
The finalist projects are listed alphabetically by film follow:
Animation
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.
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