iACADEMY celebrates another milestone in Filipino animation as Alien Girl!, produced by recent graduates of BS Animation students under their studio name - Tin Foil Hats Studios. Alien Girl! officially enters the Top 10 Films of Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival’s inaugural Panorama Shorts section.
Directed by iACADEMY VISION Creative Unit mentee Juliana Skye Q. Estaris, Alien Girl! brings together Christine Annika Olazo and Jalila Beatrix Sevilla in a short animated film that explores the experience of feeling different and struggling to find one’s place among peers.
This film is the students' Thesis Film for their bachelors and during their 4th year the film also won People’s Choice and Best 2d Paperless Film in this year’s ANI Thesis Film Screening (ATFS 2026).
Through humor, relatable school experiences, and animation, Alien Girl! presents a playful yet meaningful look at language, belonging, and the anxieties that come with feeling like an outsider.
For Monique Fandagani, Program Coordinator for Animation at iACADEMY’s School of Design and the Arts, the film reflects the value of using animation to tell stories rooted in everyday experiences.
“Alien Girl! demonstrates how your experiences can transform into compelling, fantastical narrative animation. Created by Skye, Christine, and Jalila of Tinfoil Hat Studios as their final thesis project, this short film showcases the industry-grade skill set students build within our Animation curriculum. The animation pipeline is taught from pre-production, production and post-production by using Toon Boom Harmony for 2d and other industry standard softwares. I am extremely proud that Tinfoil Hat studios applied their 2d paperless Animation skills to create a very successful Thesis Film!,” said Fandagani.
Dean Hamill Buyco of iACADEMY’s School of Design and the Arts also highlighted the achievement as a reflection of the students’ growth as industry-ready creatives.
“We are proud to see our students and graduates continue to bring their creative work into professional and competitive spaces. Being part of Puregold CinePanalo’s inaugural Panorama Shorts gives Alien Girl! an opportunity to reach a wider audience while demonstrating the technical skill, creative collaboration, and storytelling confidence that we aim to develop at iACADEMY,” said Buyco.
The selection of Alien Girl! further reflects iACADEMY’s commitment to developing Filipino creatives through industry-aligned education, mentorship, and hands-on production experiences. Through platforms such as VISION, students and emerging filmmakers are given opportunities to develop their ideas and bring their stories beyond the classroom and into the wider creative industry.
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