Hollywood
41st Student Oscar winners announced
MUMBAI: 15 students have been selected as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 41st Student Academy Awards competition. They will arrive in Los Angeles for a week of industry activities that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, 7 June at 6 p.m. at the DGA Theater in Hollywood. The medal placements – gold, silver and bronze – in the five award categories will be announced at the ceremony.
For the alternative category, the winners are “Oscillate,” Daniel Sierra, School of Visual Arts, New York and “Person,” Drew Brown, The Art Institute of Jacksonville, Florida. For the animation category, the winners include “Higher Sky,” Teng Cheng, University of Southern California; “Owned,” Daniel Clark and Wesley Tippetts, Brigham Young University, Utah and “Yamashita,” Hayley Foster, Loyola Marymount University, California.
In the documentary category, the winners are “The Apothecary,” Helen Hood Scheer, Stanford University; “One Child,” Zijian Mu, New York University and “White Earth,” J. Christian Jensen, Stanford University.
The winners in the narrative category include “Above the Sea,” Keola Racela, Columbia University, New York; “Door God,” Yulin Liu, New York University and “Interstate,” Camille Stochitch, American Film Institute, California. The winners who took home the coveted prize in the foreign category include “Border Patrol,” Peter Baumann, The Northern Film School, United Kingdom; “Nocebo,” Lennart Ruff, University of Television and Film Munich, Germany and “Paris on the Water,” Hadas Ayalon, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
This year saw first-time honours go to Tel Aviv University, Israel, and The Northern Film School, United Kingdom, in the foreign competition. Academy members voted the winners from a field of 49 finalists, announced earlier this month. The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. The previous Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. They include John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.
Hollywood
Paramount eyes $24bn Gulf support to fund Warner Bros Discovery merger: Reports
Sovereign funds line up funding as media giants chase streaming scale
NEW YORK: Paramount Skydance is in talks to secure nearly $24 billion in equity commitments from Gulf sovereign wealth funds to support its planned takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a WSJ report.
The funding push comes as Paramount Skydance advances its proposed $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, which carries an equity valuation of $81 billion and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
At the heart of the financing plan are three major Gulf investors. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is expected to contribute roughly $10 billion, while the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based L’imad Holding are likely to make up the remainder.
Crucially, the proposed investments are structured as non-voting stakes. This means the Gulf backers would not have direct control in the combined entity, a move designed to ease regulatory concerns in the United States. Paramount executives reportedly do not expect the deal to trigger scrutiny from bodies such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States or the Federal Communications Commission.
If completed, the merger would bring together a formidable portfolio of entertainment and news assets, including CNN and CBS. The combined entity aims to better compete in a fast-evolving media landscape where streaming platforms are steadily pulling audiences away from traditional television.
The deal reflects a broader shift in global media, where scale is increasingly seen as essential to survive the streaming wars. By pooling content libraries, technology and distribution, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are betting on size and synergy to drive future growth.
The involvement of deep-pocketed Gulf investors also underscores the growing role of sovereign wealth in shaping global media consolidation, particularly at a time when high-value deals demand equally large financial backing.
With shareholder votes and regulatory milestones still ahead, the proposed tie-up remains one of the most closely watched media deals of the year. If it clears the final hurdles, it could redraw the competitive map of the global entertainment industry.
