WIA welcomes ESMA as latest educational partner
Skwigly
Today, WIA, the global advocacy organization championing equity for women and people of underrepresented gender identities in animation, gaming and VFX announced that ESMA (École Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques) has joined in supporting WIA’s mission by becoming a Leadership Global Fund Sponsor. ESMA is an internationally recognized French school known for 3D animation and visual effects and whose students recently won the prestigious BAFTA Student Film Award for Animation for their film, Trash.
We’re thrilled to welcome ESMA into the WIA family as a Leadership Global Fund Sponsor. Educational institutions are among our most powerful allies. When schools champion equity from day one, they shape the kind of industry we all want to work in. ESMA’s artistic excellence, global reach, and their students’ remarkable BAFTA-winning work on Trash make them an inspiring partner, and we can’t wait to see what we’ll build together for the next generation of creators.
-Hsiang Chin Moe (Chair of Education, WIA)
ESMA (École Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques) films are recognized globally for their artistic excellence and technical mastery, often described as carrying the distinctive “ESMA touch.”
The school has recently launched a number of courses for international students across 3D Animation & FX training, taught entirely in English, preparing students for successful careers in the global animation industry.
Trash, a six-minute animated short, won the BAFTA Student Film Award in 2025. The film was also awarded the Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at Cinequest, Best of Fest at the Melbourne International Animation Festival, and Best Student Short Film at ANIMAYO, as well as being nominated for an ANNIE Award.
Becoming one of WIA’s educational partners is an important step for ESMA and a strong signal of our commitment to the next generation of animation and VFX talent. Through this partnership, we are proud to support a more open, inclusive and internationally connected creative industry.
-Isabelle Teissedre, Executive Director for Pedagogy at Réseau Écoles Créatives
ESMA joins the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York – WIA’s first educational partner, as one of only two educational institutions currently supporting WIA as Global Fund Donors. Partnerships with institutions like ESMA and SVA strengthen WIA’s mission of gender parity in the industry by supporting underrepresented talent from schools into their chosen fields.
Moe continues:
With educational partnerships now on both sides of the Atlantic, WIA continues to expand its international reach and support for emerging talent. Every partnership like this deepens our commitment to ensuring that creatives, wherever they are in the world, have every opportunity to thrive. We’re just getting started, and warmly invite other institutions to join us in shaping a more equitable future for animation, VFX, and gaming globally.
As part of their Leadership sponsorship, ESMA students will have access to WIA programs, including the WIA Scholarship, events and workshops and the organization’s flagship WIA Mentorship program.
In 2015, more than 60 percent of animation school graduates were women, yet they held only 20 percent of the industry’s creative roles. Thanks in large part to WIA’s work, supported by Global Fund Donors like ESMA, today women hold 34 percent of creative roles, according to the Animation Guild – a more than 50 percent increase since 2015.