A filmmaker inspired by her native Mongolian culture has won gold at the Student Academy Awards, beating all the contestants from outside the US.

B.Mart won the Documentary (International Film Schools) category with ‘Nomadic Doctor’, which follows a medic providing care to families in the Gobi Desert. She collected the award at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills. The film was inspired by her sister, who worked as a doctor in the Gobi, often travelling 100 km in harsh conditions, sometimes even by camel, to bring relief to sick nomads.

B.Mart, who studied at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, said “I always wanted to introduce my culture to the world.” She graduated with a master’s degree in film and TV production last year.

Earlier this year, her MA-major project also won the Best Student Short at the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards.

This year’s Student Academy Award winners were chosen from 1,582 entries. B.Mart is now eligible to compete for this year’s Oscars in the Documentary Short Subject category.