Award-winning Animation ‘Lunch Box’ by Our Final Year Students
Our dreamers and doers take their short animated film all around the world
A group of final year BA (Hons) Animation & VFX students from AMDT School of Creativity have taken their final project to international heights. Their short animated film ‘Lunch Box’ has been making waves across the global festival circuit, earning major wins, nominations and recognition for its heartfelt storytelling and strong Creative direction.
Their growing list of achievements includes
- Gold Winner – Sri Lanka’s 26th Digicon Asia Short Film Contest
- Best Animated Short Film – Agenda14 Short Film Festival
- Bronze Tula – Animax Skopje Festival 2024
- Best Animation of the Month – TMMF 2024
- Audience Award – Feel the Reel International Film Festival 2024
- Official Selection – Golden Baklava Film Academy Festival 2024
And several nominations across international student and short film festivals, such as,
- Nominee: Best Short Film – International Youth Film Festival (10th Cinematic Harvest)
- Nominee: Best Student Short Film of the Month – TMMF 2024
- Nominee: Best Animation – Feel the Reel International Film Festival 2024
Meet the team
This award-winning project was brought to life by a powerful team of BA (Hons) Animation & VFX final year AMDTians, each contributing their own Creative strength.
Shazeen Thalha
Director, Producer, Screenplay, Modeling, Texturing, Lighting and Rendering, Rigging, Animation, Simulation, Sound Design, Compositing, Motion Graphics
Ajmal Imthiyas
Art Director, Visual Development, Texturing, 2D Design and 2D Animation, Digimatte
Mayoorakanth Kasinathan
Pipeline Manager, Character Creation and Character Texturing, 3D Hair Grooming, Modelling, Cloth Design and Cloth Texturing, Cloth Simulation
Sayuni Liyanage
Visual Development, Modeling, 2D Design and 2D Animation, End Credits Conceptualized
Kasun Kumara
Pre-Visualization, Modelling, Texturing, Foley and Sound Design, End Credits Visualized
The original score was composed by Ryan De Silva, a fellow AMDTian, who brought emotional depth and rhythm to the story through music.
What ‘Lunch Box’ is about
Set in a Sri Lankan neighbourhood, ‘Lunch Box’ follows Maya, a mother who runs after her son to hand him a forgotten lunchbox, only to face disapproving stares from neighbours. In a flashback, we learn Maya was once a talented athlete. The next day, she prepares lunch again, secretly hoping her son forgets it just so she can run again. It’s a simple yet powerful story about identity, judgment and rediscovering purpose.
A proud moment for Sri Lanka’s animation industry
This isn’t just a win for us. It’s a win for the entire Sri Lankan animation community. ‘Lunch Box’ shows that our stories, when told with heart and craft, can resonate far beyond our borders. It’s proof of the Creative power brewing right here in Sri Lanka.
To the ‘Lunch Box’ team
We are incredibly proud of how far our AMDTians have taken their work. From the classroom to the world, they’ve shown what it means to be dreamers & doers who inspire Creative minds.