"Hey, your film was amazing and everyone loved it! But I don't trust you and think it was just a fluke! So, here's third place because I'm a terrible teacher who doesn't have the brains to realize that if it WAS just a fluke, then your next project won't be good!"
You grade/judge things off the the actual result, NOT off your misguided feelings that something is wrong. What if it was a math test that someone got 100% on? If she felt the student guessed at a couple answers, would she drop them to a 90%?
I like the series, but I would not want this woman as my teacher.