ESMA Joins WIA As New Global Educational Partner

WIA, formerly Women In Animation, the leading advocacy group for advancing gender equality in animation, for women and underrepresented gender identities, has announced that ESMA (École Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques) is joining WIA's mission by becoming a Leadership Global Fund Sponsor. ESMA is a globally recognised French school of 3D animation and VFX, and its students recently won a prestigious Student BAFTA Award for their film Trash.

“We're thrilled to welcome ESMA into the WIA family as a Leadership Global Fund Sponsor,” WIA Chair of Education Hsiang Chin Moe said. “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.”

ESMA's films are acclaimed around the world for their artistic excellence and technical mastery and are often said to have "that ESMA touch".

The school has recently launched a number of courses for international students in 3D Animation and VFX training. Taught entirely in English, the courses prepare students for a career in the global animation industry.

Six-minute short Trash won the BAFTA for Best Student Film in 2025. It also won 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.

Isabelle Teissedre, Executive Director for Pedagogy at Réseau Écoles Créatives, said, “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.” 

ESMA is only the second educational institution to become a Global Fund Donor. The first was the School of Visual Arts in New York (SVA). Through partnerships with schools like ESMA and SVA, WIA hopes to further their mission of achieving gender equality in animation, games and VFX. It hopes to do this by supporting underrepresented talent in their chosen field.

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 the partnership, ESMA students will have access to WIA programs, including the WIA scholarship, events and workshops and the organisation's flagship WIA Mentor Program.

In 2015, more than 60% of animation graduates were women but they held only 20% of the industry's creative roles.  Thanks in a large part to WIA's work, supported by Global Fund Donors such as ESMA and SVA, today they occupy 34% of creative roles, according to The Animation Guild, a more than 50% increase since 2015.