A young filmmaker from Warsaw has taken a Polish film-school production onto one of cinema’s most recognisable stages for emerging talent.
Leon Korzyński’s Kamathipura Express won bronze in the Narrative category at the 53rd Student Academy Awards, presented in Toronto on 14 September. The result also marked the first Student Academy Award honour for Warsaw Film School.
The achievement came from a field of 2,972 entries submitted by students at 894 colleges and universities around the world. Korzyński competed in the Narrative category against films representing institutions in Spain and Canada, with The Dragon Letter by Stanzin Jigmet taking gold and Antoine Boulanger’s The Pichenotte receiving silver.
Warsaw Film School was one of six institutions to receive a Student Academy Award for the first time in 2026.
For Korzyński, born in Warsaw in 2002 and currently studying at the school, the bronze places his name in a programme whose previous winners have included filmmakers such as Spike Lee, Pete Docter and Robert Zemeckis.
From Warsaw to Mumbai
Kamathipura Express is a 28-minute student short produced by Warsaw Film School and filmed in India.
The story follows Osa, a young Polish man living in Mumbai who falls in love with Sapna, a teenage dancer. When her family’s financial difficulties place her in danger, the pair are forced to flee, taking the story beyond Kamathipura, Mumbai’s historic red-light district.
Korzyński has a longstanding connection with Asia in his filmmaking. Biographical material published by the Polish Film Institute says he spent the first months of his life with his parents in Thailand and later developed a particular interest in Asian cinema and culture. His earlier Warsaw Film School short, Hajfongpol, also explored a story crossing Polish and Asian experiences.
Kamathipura Express brought together a Polish and international production team. Oskar Karos and Mia Paul appear among the principal cast, alongside Vipin Sharma, Utkarsh Vardhan, Tomasz Kot and Agnieszka Żulewska. Korzyński co-wrote the screenplay with Sahil Mirani, with cinematography by Witold Prokopczyk and editing by Krystian Łupiński. Warsaw Film School produced the film in cooperation with India Take One Productions, according to Polish Radio.
A first for Warsaw Film School
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to identify and support emerging filmmakers from colleges and universities around the world.
The 2026 ceremony was held at TIFF Lightbox during the Toronto International Film Festival, the first time the Student Academy Awards ceremony had taken place at TIFF.
Korzyński’s success therefore represents more than another festival selection for his film. It places Warsaw Film School among the institutions to have been recognised directly by the Academy in its international student competition for the first time.
There may also be another stage ahead for Kamathipura Express.
Student Academy Award-winning films are eligible to compete for consideration at the 99th Academy Awards in the corresponding short-film categories. In the case of narrative films, that means the route towards the Live Action Short Film category. Eligibility does not mean that Kamathipura Express has been nominated for an Oscar.
The pathway is nevertheless a significant one. According to the Academy, previous Student Academy Award winners have subsequently accumulated 70 Oscar nominations and won or shared 15 Academy Awards.
For a 24-year-old Warsaw filmmaker and a school receiving its first Student Academy Award recognition, Toronto has already provided a considerable milestone: from almost 3,000 student films submitted worldwide, Kamathipura Express finished among the three recognised Narrative productions of 2026.
