(JTA) – A Tel Aviv University graduate has won a top Student Academy Award and her documentary will be automatically entered in the Academy Awards competition. Maya Sarfaty will also receive a gold medal for her film, “The Most Beautiful Woman,” it was announced August 29 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The film tells the true story of a love affair between an SS guard and a young Jewish woman at the Auschwitz death camp.

Sarfaty’s film was the only one to make the cut in the foreign documentary category and is therefore guaranteed a gold medal when the final winners are announced on Sept. 22. A native of Netanya, Sarfaty earned an undergraduate and master’s degree at the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University and also graduated from the Nissan Nativ Acting School, which conducts classes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. In all, the academy selected 17 students as nominees in seven categories. According to an Academy spokesperson, this year saw a record number of entries, with 1,749 films submitted by U.S. students and 95 films from colleges and universities in other countries. The 89th Academy Awards gala is scheduled for Feb. 26, 2017.

CAP: Maya Sarfaty