An ECA alumna has won the Animation award at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Scotland Student Awards – from a shortlist consisting entirely of ECA graduates.
Abby Gilman’s seven-minute stop frame puppet animation, ’The Lantern’s Lament,’ was her ECA graduation film.
The rest of the shortlist for the award comprised ‘Eye Contact’ by Carmen Thomson & Manuele Manieri and ‘DÌLEAS’ by Emily Munro. Carmen and Emily both graduated with BA (Hons) Animation in 2025, while Manuele graduated with MMus Composition the same year.
Abby said: “This film started when I knew I wanted to tell a story about grief, but focused more on the ways that we can heal from it. It follows Arthur, a lonesome lighthouse keeper who has succumbed to his grief and isolation, until he meets an unlikely companion that teaches him to let people back into his life.”
She said she was delighted with the win: “It means a lot to me to have won this award. I think the story is something that everyone can relate to in one way or another, and I’m so happy that people have been able to connect with my film.
“The ceremony was full of so many amazing and talented filmmakers, it was an honour to even be nominated. The shortlist for animation being made up of ECA alumni was such a unique experience! It was amazing to be able to see my classmates’ films from the first concept to the final product. I think our whole course at ECA is so full of talented animators and it could’ve easily been any one of us who won.”
She also praised staff on the course: “The animation staff at ECA are such amazing tutors and I think the support they give us during our time there is one of the reasons we have all become such strong animators. We also are so luckily to have such an amazing technician, Mike Mullen, who helps prepare us for every step of our animation journey.”
Senior Lecturer in Animation, Dr Nichola Dobson, said: “All three of the films were fantastic and we are immensely proud of them. They were all very different and I think it highlights our continued dedication to diversity of methods in storytelling.
“Abby’s hard work and dedication to making her film shines through in this engaging and moving tale about grief, loneliness and finding new hope in dark times.”
