The Academy honoured winners at the 53rd Student Academy Awards ceremony on Monday, held for the first time at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) inside TIFF Lightbox.
The ceremony announced placements in four categories, with the UK’s Jason Elliott of the UK’s National Film and Television School earning silver placement for his documentary I Want to Live.
The Student Academy Awards received 2,972 entries from 894 colleges and universities worldwide.
Scroll to bottom for complete list of student medal placements
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Meredith Shea, chief membership, impact, and industry officer, spoke to Screen a week before TIFF and said the recent number of student winners from outside the United States chimed with the organisation’s international outreach strategy.
“We decided to have this ceremony take place outside of Los Angeles to engage more members, new audiences and new students,” Kramer said. “Two years ago, we were in London, last year we were in New York and this year our ceremony is in Toronto – it’s part of our efforts to globalise the academy. Cameron Bailey [TIFF CEO] and Anita Lee [chief programming officer] at TIFF have been incredible partners for us.”
Shea said over the course of a five-day itinerary the students visited the festival and toured TIFF: The Market, went on a studio tour, attended Summit talks, a VIP lunch, and education panels with Academy members including Oscar winners, executives, and industry leaders.
“This opportunity for emerging filmmakers is a huge platform for them,” Shea said, adding: “They’re understanding markets, they’re seeing the inner workings of a film festival, connecting with different industry talks and seeing films, which brings them closer to the community of artists that come together each year at these global festivals to celebrate film.”
“One of the many benefits of this, not just for the students, but for the Academy, is that it allows us to work with Academy members in Canada and from all over the world who will be in town.” Kramer said. “It’s a great member engagement tool for the Academy. We’re now up to 11,000 members around the world, 25% of whom are non-US. There are cinematographers, editors, actors, directors, producers who are actively working in our film industry who have not been connected to the Academy in the past. That requires of us to be out in the world a lot meeting with members.
“In the past two years, we’ve been to Rio, Marrakesh, Cannes, Toronto, the Bay Area, New York, and Morelia. We’re going to Busan this year and I’m going to Zurich [next week]. We’re meeting new potential Academy members and demystifying who we are as an organisation and saying, ‘You’re invited in. You’re part of our global film community.’”
Kramer concluded: “This Student Academy Awards process mirrors the Oscars, so all of the films that are submitted go up on our Academy screening room. The Academy members that vote on the Oscars are the same individuals that are viewing and voting in Student Academy Awards. Our partners at Pricewaterhouse tabulate the ballots that determine the winners and all the winners are automatically eligible for Oscar consideration.”
The Student Academy Awards will go on the road again in 2027 to a destination that will be announced in due course.
The 2026 Student Academy Award placements:
Alternative/Experimental
Gold: Lei He, “Drifting,” Duke University, United States
Silver: Viktorie Štěpánová, “Volklore,” Filmová a Televizní Fakulta Akademie Múzických Umění v Praze (FAMU), Czech Republic
Bronze: Nina Broers, “Where Is My Sex Drive?” St. Joost School of Art & Design, Netherlands
Animation
Gold: Jonathan Lally, Elio Molinaro & Nicolás Acevedo Ferraté, “COWS,” École Supérieure de Métiers Artistiques (ESMA), France
Silver: Matthias Strasser, “The Panic Inside,” Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Bronze: Noran Fikri Alezabi, Xinyue Ma & Yulin Yue, “Gauze,” Gobelins, France
Documentary
Gold: Lara Dihmis, “The Last People of Petra,” New York University, United States
Silver: Jason Elliott, “I Want to Live,” National Film and Television School, United Kingdom
Bronze: Arjun Fischer, “Artificial Love,” University of Southern California, United States
Narrative
Gold: Stanzin Jigmet, “The Dragon Letter,” Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), Spain
Silver: Antoine Boulanger, “The Pichenotte,” Concordia University, Canada
Bronze: Leon Korzyński, “Kamathipura Express,” Warsaw Film School, Poland.
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