The Exam

The Exam by the acclaimed Kurdish director Shawkat Amin Korki is a daring tale of emancipation, sisterhood and corruption. Rojin is about to sit her university entrance exam, but if she fails, her father will force her into an arranged marriage. Rojin’s unhappily married older sister Shilan knows exactly what’s at stake, and decides to help her pass at any cost. After eliciting the assistance of an underground business that helps students cheat, they soon find themselves entangled in a vast network of corruption that connects all parts of society.

‘I focused on two female protagonists to address the certain kind of pressure that young women experience in Kurdistan. The balance between marriage and motherhood on one side and education on the other is a constant battle and sacrifice for women, especially in this region. One of the main protagonists, the older sister Shilan, who is frustrated by her own life situation, fights for a better life for her younger sister Rojin. Her strongly motivated actions bring her to experience empowerment herself, while facing her unlucky marriage and her lost dreams. The title THE EXAM is hence not only the physical university exam Rojin must pass in order to have a better life, but it is also a figurative reference to Shilan’s personal examination of her own life situation.’

Shawkat Amin Korki, Director