International schools dominated the 53rd Student Academy Awards, which took place on Monday at the TIFF Lightbox at Reitman Square during the Toronto International Film Festival. Of the 12 medals, 9 went to international schools, while emerging filmmakers from Duke and New York University won two of the four gold medals; another from University of Southern California took home bronze.
The Academy announced the names of the 12 winning students in August, but did not disclose the medal distribution until Monday’s ceremony. Lei He from Duke took top honors in the alternative/experimental category with “Drifting,” NYU’s Lara Dihmis snagged first place for documentary with “The Last People of Petra,” and USC’s Arjun Fischer won the bronze in the same category for “Artificial Love.”
As is often the case, France had a strong showing, picking up gold and bronze in the animation category. The 12 winners were chosen from 2,972 entries from 894 colleges and universities worldwide. They join a select group whose members include Patricia Cardoso, Pete Docter, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen and Robert Zemeckis, and all are eligible for the 99th Academy Awards in the Animated Short, Live Action Short or Documentary Short categories. Past Student Academy Award winners have earned 70 Oscar nominations.
Below, the 2026 Student Academy Award medal distribution:
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
