Seven Lakes High School graduate Zaina Quadri won a $1,000 national scholarship for an animated short film in which Earth's inner core scolds humanity for abandoning the planet.

The One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest announced Thursday, Aug. 6, that Quadri's three-minute film "To the Core" took the University/College Scholarship Award, beating out 428 submissions from 58 countries and 35 U.S. states, according to the Katy Times. The Chicago-based contest typically gives the award to a live-action film; this year, an animation won the category for the first time.

"I made this film to express my environmental concerns," Quadri wrote in her contest submission. "So, like any other normal person, I took Earth's giant planet core and made her able to scold humans about climate change. Because what better way to get people to take care of the planet than getting it straight from the source?"

The film is set in a future where humans have fled an environmentally damaged Earth for Mars. A protagonist named Eddie the astronaut visits the abandoned planet, falls into a hole leading to the core and finds Earth personified as a scolding mother figure. She has words for the humans who left.

Along with the scholarship, Quadri receives a matching $1,000 gift to direct to a nonprofit aligned with her film's theme. She chose Earthjustice, an environmental nonprofit.

The award caps a strong year for Quadri's animation work. At the 2026 UIL Academic State Meet, she earned third place in Class 6A Digital Animation for the same film, according to a Katy ISD announcement on June 17. Seven Lakes classmates Sofia Morias and Bianca Salinas won the state title in Traditional Animation at the same meet, giving the school two animation medals at state.

Winners from Germany, South Korea, Poland, Argentina, Guinea, India, Taiwan and three U.S. states will be recognized at the Global Awards Celebration at 10 a.m. Sept. 27 at Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Adam Joel of Aggressively Compassionate will host, introducing winners before their films premiere.