The 2026 Student Academy Awards Are Coming to the Toronto International Film Festival

The Student Academy Awards are coming to the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, having received 2,972 entries from 894 colleges and universities worldwide for its annual competition, voted 16 students as winners of the 53rd Student Academy Awards. Said 2026 winners join the ranks of such past Student Academy Award winners as Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis, Patricia Riggen, Pete Docter, and Patricia Cardoso.

The presentation ceremony for the annual international student film awards, where gold, silver and bronze placements in the four award categories will be announced, is going to be held at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) inside TIFF Lightbox at Reitman Square on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET, in partnership with Rolex. 

Additionally, winners will have a robust weekend of education programming, networking opportunities, and exclusive access to Academy members to support their career advancement.

All Student Academy Award-winning films will be eligible to compete for the 99th Oscars in the Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, or Documentary Short Film category. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 70 Oscar nominations, including recent Best Live Action Short nominee “Butcher’s Stain,” and have won or shared 15 awards.

The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the film industry to showcase their work.

The winners are (listed alphabetically by film title):

Alternative/Experimental

Lei He, “Drifting,” Duke University, United States

Viktorie Štěpánová, “Volklore,” Filmová a Televizní Fakulta Akademie Múzických Umění v Praze (FAMU), Czech Republic

Nina Broers, “Where Is My Sex Drive?” St. Joost School of Art & Design, Netherlands

Animation

Jonathan Lally, Elio Molinaro & Nicolás Acevedo Ferraté, “COWS,” École Supérieure de Métiers Artistiques (ESMA), France

Noran Fikri Alezabi, Xinyue Ma & Yulin Yue, “Gauze,” Gobelins, France

Matthias Strasser, “The Panic Inside,” Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Documentary

Arjun Fischer, “Artificial Love,” University of Southern California, United States 

Jason Elliott, “I Want to Live,” National Film and Television School, United Kingdom

Lara Dihmis, “The Last People of Petra,” New York University, United States 

Narrative

Stanzin Jigmet, “The Dragon Letter,” Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), Spain

Leon Korzyński, “Kamathipura Express,” Warsaw Film School, Poland

Antoine Boulanger, “The Pichenotte,” Concordia University, Canada

First-time honors go to students from Concordia University, Duke University, École Supérieure de Métiers Artistiques (ESMA), Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), St. Joost School of Art and Design and Warsaw Film School.