For the first time, a Tel Aviv University student is one of 15 winners in this year’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 41st Student Academy Awards competition. Hadas Ayalon was honored for her film, ‘Paris on the Water,’ in the Foreign Film category.

The 27-minute film was Ayalon’s final project for her master’s degree at TAU. It tells the story of a formerly famous actress who finally gets a chance to return to the screen only to have an unexpected event pop up on audition day.

While the 15 student winners and their films were posted, the medal placements – gold, silver and bronze – will only be announced at a June 7 awards ceremony at the DGA Theater in Hollywood.

The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. They include John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.