US Schools Win 3 Medals at Student Academy Awards
International schools dominated overall, but emerging filmmakers from Duke and NYU scored two of a possible four gold medals The post US Schools Win 3 Medals at Student Academy Awards appeared first on TheWrap .
The 53rd Student Academy Awards, held during the Toronto International Film Festival, showcased international schools as the dominant force, securing nine of the twelve medals. Duke University and New York University emerged as emerging filmmakers, winning two of the four gold medals each. The University of Southern California claimed a bronze medal.
The Academy revealed the medal distribution in August but withheld it until Monday’s ceremony. Lei He from Duke claimed the top prize in the alternative/experimental category with "Drifting," while NYU’s Lara Dihmis won first place for her documentary "The Last People of Petra," and Arjun Fischer from USC took bronze for "Artificial Love" in the same category.
France demonstrated a strong performance, bagging gold and bronze in the animation category. The winners, chosen from 2,972 entries submitted by 894 colleges and universities worldwide, join an elite group of alumni such as Patricia Cardoso, Pete Docter, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen, and Robert Zemeckis, all eligible for the 99th Academy Awards in categories like Animated Short, Live Action Short, or Documentary Short.
Past Student Academy Award winners have earned a total of 70 Oscar nominations. The detailed medal distribution for 2026 includes gold for Lei He in the alternative/experimental category, Viktorie Štěpánová in the animation category, and Nina Broers in the documentary category, among others.
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