The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that the presentation ceremony for the 53rd Student Academy Awards will be held at the Toronto International Film Festival inside TIFF Lightbox on Monday 14 September 2026.
In collaboration with TIFF, Student Academy Award winners will have access to attend the festival and market, and they will experience education panels and networking opportunities.
In addition, winners will have exclusive access to Academy members to support their career advancement.
“As the Academy becomes increasingly global, we are delighted to bring this year’s Student Academy Awards to TIFF,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor.
“These filmmakers are the future of our industry, and we are thrilled to platform their work at this important international festival.
“We sincerely thank TIFF for their support and our long-standing Student Academy Awards partner, Rolex, which shares our deep commitment to fostering emerging filmmakers.”
“We’re honoured to welcome the Academy and the Student Academy Awards to our 51st edition of the Festival,” added Anita Lee, TIFF’s chief programming officer.
“Championing the next generation of global storytellers is central to our mission, including through initiatives like TIFF Next Wave, and we’re proud to celebrate this year’s student filmmakers as they engage with industry leaders and audiences from around the world here in Toronto.”
The annual competition is open to full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students who have completed an intermediate-level or final graduation film as part of their coursework.
Students are asked to submit their films online using FilmFreeway, a widely used festival and competition platform.
Each year, college and university film students from all over the world compete for awards and cash grants, with films being judged in the following categories: Alternative/Experimental, Animation, Documentary and Live Action Narrative.
Complete rules and a link to the online submission platform are available on the Oscars website.
The winners of the 53rd Student Academy Awards competition will be announced in August.
All Student Academy Award-winning films will be eligible to compete for the 99th Oscars in the Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film or Documentary Short Film category.
Past winners have gone on to receive 70 Oscar nominations and have won or shared 15 awards.
