53rd Student Academy Awards Winners Announced: Cows Wins Animation Gold

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored its international student winners at the 53rd Student Academy Awards ceremony, distributing Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals at the Toronto International Film Festival inside TIFF Lightbox at Reitman Square, according to official Academy announcements. Held in partnership with Rolex, this year’s competition drew 2,972 entries from 894 colleges and universities worldwide, highlighting emerging cinematic talent across multiple categories.

Speeches at the gathering were delivered by Academy CEO Bill Kramer, along with Kim Taylor-Coleman (Academy Foundation Board President and Casting Directors Branch Governor) and Jason Reitman (Academy Directors Branch Governor and Academy Museum Trustee), as noted by the Academy. The lineup of category presenters featured Gael García Bernal and Gemma Chan from the Actors Branch, alongside Liz Garbus, who is an Oscar nominee and a member of the Documentary Branch.

Medal Placements Across Categories

The 53rd Student Academy Awards recognized winners across four distinct competition categories, with several institutions securing honors for the first time. The complete list of Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal placements spans work from the United States, Europe, and Canada.

In the Alternative/Experimental category, the Gold medal went to Lei He for “Drifting” from Duke University in the United States. Viktorie Štěpánová earned Silver for “Volklore” from FAMU in the Czech Republic, while Nina Broers claimed Bronze for “Where Is My Sex Drive?” from St. Joost School of Art & Design in the Netherlands.

In the Animation category, Gold was awarded to Jonathan Lally, Elio Molinaro, and Nicolás Acevedo Ferraté for “COWS” from École Supérieure de Métiers Artistiques (ESMA) in France. Matthias Strasser took Silver for “The Panic Inside” from the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in Germany, and Noran Fikri Alezabi, Xinyue Ma, and Yulin Yue won Bronze for “Gauze” from Gobelins in France.

In the Documentary category, Lara Dihmis secured Gold for “The Last People of Petra” from New York University in the United States. Jason Elliott received Silver for “I Want to Live” from the National Film and Television School in the United Kingdom, and Arjun Fischer took Bronze for “Artificial Love” from the University of Southern California in the United States.

In the Narrative category, Stanzin Jigmet won Gold for “The Dragon Letter” from ESCAC in Spain. Antoine Boulanger took Silver for “The Pichenotte” from Concordia University in Canada, and Leon Korzyński earned Bronze for “Kamathipura Express” from the Warsaw Film School in Poland.

The Academy noted that the event brought first-time competition victories to pupils enrolled at Duke University, Concordia University, École Supérieure de Métiers Artistiques (ESMA), Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), Warsaw Film School, and St. Joost School of Art and Design.

Voting Process and Career Advancement

Entries for the Student Academy Awards are evaluated by Academy members from all 19 branches who opt in to view and vote. According to the Academy, voting is conducted by secret online ballot and tabulated by the independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

With the presentation concluded, every victorious movie now qualifies to vie for the 99th Oscars within the Live Action Short Film, Animated Short Film, or Documentary Short Film category. Past Student Academy Award winners include Patricia Cardoso, Pete Docter, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen, and Robert Zemeckis. According to Academy records, alumni of the competition have collectively gone on to receive 70 Oscar nominations and have won or shared 15 awards.

To support career development, winning students are paired with Academy members and gain access to educational programming, networking opportunities, and exclusive industry access through the Academy Gold Mentorship Program and Alumni Network. The 2026 ceremony is available for streaming on the Academy’s YouTube channel with American Sign Language support.