THE EXAM (Ezmûn)

2021
Fiction Feature, 89 min
Germany, Kurdistan Regional Government - Iraq, Qatar

Writer: Shawkat Amin Korki, Mohamed Reza Gohari
Director: Shawkat Amin Korki
Producer: Mehmet Aktas
Co-Producer: Fouad Jalal
Production: mîtosfilm in Co-production with Masti Films
Supported by: Cultural Ministry of City of Culture - Suleymaniya, Doha Film Institute, Republic Iraq - Ministry of Culture - Iraqi Cinema and Theater Foundation

World Premiere: 55th Karlovy International Vary Film Festival

World Sales: Arthood Entertainment

Awards:

Prize of the FIPRESCI-Jury, 55th Karlovy Vary IFF

Golden Owl for Best Screenplay, 19th Tirana IFF

ICPA Award, UNFPA and Bayer Middle East, in cooperation with 43rd Cairo IFF

Best Feature Film, Victoria FF 2022, Canada

Best International Feature Film, 37th Santa Barbara IFF

Synopsis:

Rojin, a heartbroken young woman who is suffering from depression after the disappearance of her fiance, is preparing for her university entrance exam. If she fails, her father will force her into marriage. If she succeeds, however, she might lead a more emancipated life and avoid the fate of her older sister Shilan, who is unhappily married to a conservative man who demands her to be a proper housewife. Seeing that her younger sister struggles to achieve that dream, Shilan becomes desperate to make her pass the exam by any means necessary. This decision puts the sisters under immense pressure from their environment both at home and in school, as they become entangled in a huge network of corruption that is connected through all parts of society.

Press:

"THE EXAM presents a powerful plea for equal access to education, allowing young women to lead a free and emancipated life."
Terre Des Femmes, Christa Stolle (CEO)

„[…] the bond between these two [sisters], as they don’t seem to have high hopes for their respective futures, is touching.“ 
Cineuropa, Marta Bałaga

“It is in this respect that the film approaches the issue of women’s rights more comprehensively, provocatively, and loosely than many other works that unquestioningly define the desire for personal emancipation through the characters of suffering women cutting the chains of a ruthless patriarchy.“
FIPRESCI Jury, Adéla Mrázová

“Punctuating its pro-feminist messages with moral and ethical questions about the extremely risky measures taken by the girl to ensure success, the fourth feature by leading Kurdish filmmaker Shawkat Amin Korki is packaged with all the suspense and tension of a tightly wound crime thriller."
Variety, Richard Kuipers