Four students from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s AB Animation program stole the spotlight by emerging as winners at the International Animation Challenge (IAC) 2024 held at Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore from Aug. 19 to 30.
The International Animation Challenge brought together 48 students from around the world, dividing them into 12 international teams to collaborate on an eight-second chained animation project focused on showcasing Singapore’s vibrant culture. Each team was given a heritage building, representing an iconic element of Singapore's rich history and heritage.
The IAC Gold Award was awarded to Team Rice consisting of ID119 student Michelangelo A. Limueco, while Team Kimchi Fried Rice which includes ID121 Samantha Louise Lim Ocampo secured the Silver Award, and lastly, the Bronze Award to Team Ricebird with Karissa Rae O. Chuayap, an ID119 student. Meanwhile, Team Loof with ID119 Gerone Viktoria P. Esguerra took home the Bronze Award in the Real-Time Animation category.
The winning piece from Limueco and his team was an animated sequence of the Bras Basah Complex, known as the Book City of Singapore and a prominent arts and cultural hub.
In an interview with The Benildean, Limueco admitted that he did not expect to win the top prize. "I was expecting to place, but I was not completely certain that my team would get first place because all the other teams had such beautiful and arguably flashier animations compared to ours."
He added, "I was relieved that we took our time to tell a story in such a short animation and held back from adding too many visuals, which might have made our animation more appealing but would have distracted from the story we were trying to tell."
When asked about her experience, Chuayap, whose team worked on the National Gallery of Singapore, emphasized the value of trust and teamwork. "Filipino animators are highly skilled, and hopefully, this inspires other students to put themselves out there more, in ways that showcase their individual ideas and not just an instrument to help finish already existing productions," she said.
Esguerra then stressed the importance of collaboration and hoped that more talented Benildean students would participate in similar opportunities in the future. "One of the main differences we noticed between us and the NYP [Nanyang Polytechnic] students is that they’re more used to collaborative group work, which is what’s mostly expected of us as we enter the industry.”
“This is something that is lacking at Benilde. I think students would learn and grow more if they did multiple short animated works with different groups, rather than focusing on a huge solo animation for thesis films,” she explained.
Esguerra also noted that while other participating countries had financial support for their trips to Singapore, her team had to cover their own expenses. "I think Benilde can further support their animators by making opportunities like IAC more accessible to all students."
Mr. Patrick B. Astilla, Chairperson of the Animation Program, expressed hope that these victories will inspire more students to join competitions and bring greater visibility to the program.
“The winners in this competition received cash prizes or software subscriptions from the
sponsors. Apart from this, they also went through different workshops and cultural tours
around Singapore with the other participants,” he said.
“This allowed them to network with other International animation students from Taiwan, China,
Korea, and the UK.”
Institutions from around the world participated in the International Animation Challenge 2024. The Philippines was represented by DLS-CSB, while China had entries from Jilin Animation Institute and Suzhou Industrial Park Institute of Vocational Technology. On the other hand, Bansomdej Chaopraya Rajabhat University (BSRU) represented Thailand, Teesside University for the United Kingdom, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology for Taiwan, and Chungkang College of Cultural Industries for South Korea.
