Academy Unveils 2026 Student Academy Award Winners

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the winners of the 53rd Student Academy Awards, with three animation prizes and a trio of alternative/experimental awards among them.

All winning projects are now eligible for consideration in the 99th Academy Awards short film categories. Student Academy Award winners have gone on to earn 70 Oscar nominations and 15 wins, cementing the program’s reputation as a launchpad for emerging filmmaking talent.

Animation Winners

COWS – Jonathan Lally, Elio Molinaro, and Nicolás Acevedo Ferraté (École Supérieure de Métiers Artistiques, France)

Gauze – Noran Fikri Alezabi, Xinyue Ma, and Yulin Yue (Gobelins, France)

The Panic Inside – Matthias Strasser (Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Germany)

Alternative/Experimental Winners

Drifting – Lei He (Duke University)

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

Where Is My Sex Drive? – Nina Broers (St. Joost School of Art & Design, Netherlands)

This year’s Student Academy Awards competition received 2,972 entries from 894 colleges and universities around the world. The winners will be presented with their awards on September 14 at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, marking the first time the ceremony will be held as part of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Winners will participate in a weekend of industry networking and educational programming before discovering whether they’ll take home gold, silver, or bronze medals in their categories.