The Alliance New York has unveiled the winners of the Animation First 2025 in the New Francophone Shorts and Student Film Competitions.

Celebrating its eighth year, Animation First stands as the largest animation festival in the U.S. and is uniquely dedicated to showcasing Francophone animation. This year’s winners were revealed just before the closing night film on the festival’s final day, Sunday, January 26.

The prestigious top prize went to the Belgium-France-Netherlands co-production, Beautiful Men, directed by Nicolas Keppens. This captivating stop-motion short tells the story of three bald brothers who journey to Turkey for hair transplants. The film has already garnered accolades, winning two awards at Annecy, as well as Best Animation at Aspen ShortFest, Best Narrative Short at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and Best of the Festival at the London International Animation Festival. It is also nominated for this year’s animated short Oscar.

Prizes for the New Francophone Shorts and Student Film Competitions were generously sponsored by TVPaint and Toon Boom Animation.

New Francophone Shorts

• Best Francophone Short: Beautiful Men by Nicolas Keppens
• Special Mentions: VOLECEST by Éric Briche and Hurikán by Jan Saska

The jury for the New Francophone Shorts featured industry talents including Bill Plympton, Karlotta Frier, and Noelle Melody.

Best American Student Short

• Grand Prize: La Mort de Robespierre by Janelle Feng (CalArts)
• Coup de coeur Jury: Le Charade by Erika Totoro (SCAD)
• Special Mentions: iJustine King (CalArts), Wild Animal by Tianyun Lyu (University of Southern California)

The American jury comprised professionals including Lauren Spitzer, Diya Joseph (CalArts), Addison Fujimoto, Ellie Hui (SVA), Andrew Erbskorn, Amina Umirzhanova (SCAD), Xindi Zhang, and Jee Suk Kim (USC).

Best French Student Short

• Grand Prize: Jour de Vent by Martin Chailloux, Ai Kim Crespin, Elise Golfouse, Chloé Lab, Hugo Taillez, Camille Truding (École des Nouvelles images)
• Coup de coeur Jury: Shyness of Trees by Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck Du Plessis D’argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras, Bingqing Shu
• Special Mentions: Behind the Door by Jiyoung Yoon (L’École Émile-Cohl); Acrobats by Eloïse Alluyn, Hugo Danet, Anna Despinoy, Antonin Guerci, Alexandre Marzin, Shali Reddy

The French jury was composed of esteemed professionals including Martha Riviere, Alexandra Pewinski (RUBIKA), Simon Herrera, Samuels Rowella (Gobelins, l’École de l’Image), Gabrielle Diaz, Gaétan Duchesne (L’École Émile-Cohl), and was chaired by renowned animator Kristof Serrand (The Prince of Egypt, Kung Fu Panda).