Israeli director Hadas Ayalon of Tel Aviv University has been chosen as one of three directors to be awarded medals at the 41st annual Student Academy awards.

Ayalon’s film, “Paris on the Water”, was nominated for the foreign language category; her award will mark the first time an Israeli student production has won the award.

She joins Peter Baumann from Britain’s Northern Film School and Lennart Ruff of Munich’s University of Television and Film, whose respective movies, “Border Patrol” and “Nocebo”, also made it to the finals.

The three finalists will find out who will take the coveted gold medal on June 7, when organizers will announce the gold, silver and bronze placements for student Oscars bestowed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes Hollywood’s biggest annual awards show.

But all of them are already sure of getting a student Oscar, a spokeswoman said.    

The Academy launched the student awards in 1972 to “encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level.”  

Past winners have gone on to secure 46 Oscar nominations and win or share eight Academy Awards. They include big names such as John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.  

This year’s winners will come to Los Angeles for a week of industry activities before the 41st annual Student Academy Awards at the DGA Theater in Hollywood on June 7.