{"id":7027778,"date":"2026-08-05T01:56:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/animation\/motionographer-make-animation-thesis-grant-celebrates-second-year-winners\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T01:56:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:56:07","slug":"motionographer-make-animation-thesis-grant-celebrates-second-year-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7027778","title":{"rendered":"Motionographer\u00ae MAKE Animation Thesis Grant Celebrates Second-Year Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>For today\u2019s animation students, a thesis film is no longer just a graduation requirement. It\u2019s often the project that lands a first job, attracts collaborators, gets into festivals, and introduces artists to the industry.<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s35726.pcdn.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MakeThesisGrant_Thumbnail_v001.png\" alt=\"The MAKE Animation Thesis Grant celebrates its second-year winners.\"\/>That\u2019s why MAKE created the Animation Thesis Grant. The program provides funding, professional support, and industry visibility to help emerging animators bring ambitious thesis films to life while giving them the confidence to enter the professional world.<\/p>\n<p>As the studio puts it: \u201cEvery year, we\u2019re reminded just how much incredible talent exists around the world. The Animation Thesis Grant is about helping students take the leap from the classroom into the professional industry with work they\u2019re proud of, confidence in their creative voice, and a community that believes in what they\u2019re building.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>2026 Animation Thesis Grant winners<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First Place:<\/strong> <em>Stone Lions Don\u2019t Roar<\/em>, directed by Le Hang Whalen and Avery Stratton. Set in a fantastical 16th-century Vietnam where emotions take the form of living creatures, the film follows two sisters as they navigate grief, responsibility, and forgiveness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Second Place:<\/strong> <em>Thiefish<\/em>, directed by Madhava Kinnicutt and Evelyn Dale. Inspired by a love of the natural world, the film follows a thief-for-hire and a struggling fisherman as they attempt to restore balance to their world while encouraging conversations about humanity\u2019s relationship with nature.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Third Place:<\/strong> <em>Back to Bones<\/em>, directed by Ryan Koutras. A comedic fantasy following a resurrected knight and squire trapped in an endless cycle of battle and rebirth, balancing cinematic action with absurd humor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCreating <em>Stone Lions Don\u2019t Roar<\/em> was an incredibly personal journey, and having the support of the MAKE Animation Thesis Grant gave us the confidence to keep pushing the film as far as we could. Knowing that working professionals believed in our story made us feel seen as artists, and that encouragement has been just as meaningful as the funding itself,\u201d said Le Hang Whalen, Co-Director of <em>Stone Lions Don\u2019t Roar<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>As the Animation Thesis Grant enters its third year, MAKE is looking to expand its impact through partnerships with studios, brands, software companies, educational organizations, and members of the animation community. Whether through funding, mentorship, production resources, or industry connections, the studio hopes to create even more opportunities for emerging filmmakers to bring ambitious stories to life.<\/p>\n<p>Organizations interested in partnering with the MAKE Animation Thesis Grant are encouraged to connect with the MAKE team at <a href=\"https:\/\/motionographer.com\/news\/make-animation-thesis-grant-celebrates-second-year-winners\/mailto:info@makevisual.com\">info@makevisual.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong>About MAKE:<\/strong> MAKE is a creative studio specializing in impactful animation, design, and original storytelling. From commercial campaigns to original entertainment, the studio creates work that connects with audiences while championing the next generation of creative talent through initiatives like the MAKE Animation Thesis Grant.<br \/><strong>LinkedIn:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/make--\">MAKE<\/a><br \/><strong>Press Contact:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/motionographer.com\/news\/make-animation-thesis-grant-celebrates-second-year-winners\/mailto:chris@aodcomms.com\">chris@aodcomms.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For today\u2019s animation students, a thesis film is no longer just a graduation requirement. It\u2019s often the project that lands a first job, attracts collaborators, gets into festivals, and introduces artists to the industry.That\u2019s why MAKE created the Animation Thesis Grant. The program provides funding, professional support, and industry visibility to help emerging animators bring [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7027779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12035],"tags":[6119,13162,13770,191591,48668,136268,5309],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7027778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation","tag-animation","tag-celebrates","tag-grant","tag-motionographer","tag-secondyear","tag-thesis","tag-winners"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Motionographer\u00ae MAKE Animation Thesis Grant Celebrates Second-Year Winners - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7027778\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Motionographer\u00ae MAKE Animation Thesis Grant Celebrates Second-Year Winners - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For today\u2019s animation students, a thesis film is no longer just a graduation requirement. 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